How to Steal Hearts
by Anime PJ
Summary: The "silent spook," that's what they called me, just another outcast at Shujin Academy. It would've stayed that way, too, had it not been for the arrival of Akira Kurusu. Now I'm a thief. A Phantom Thief. How did this come about? Well, let me tell you a story about a group of kids who decided we'd had it with a world that didn't seem to care. OC/Ann. P5.
1. Monday, 11 April 2016

**Hello, Constant Readers! I'm disappointed in myself. _Persona 5_ has been out for months and I'm only just doing a story on it. The main reason was that I couldn't come up with a pairing that I liked 100%, but that problem has just been solved minutes before I started writing this AN. I'd also like to take a brief moment to apologise to ShadowUzumaki55 – this kind of is and kind of isn't the story you've been giving me ideas for. It kind of is in that it's set in the same universe as my story _Supernatural Serial Killers … Why Not?_ and kind of isn't because it's a different pairing from the one you suggested and the OC's disability is different from the one we discussed. Those ideas _will_ be put to good use in a future _Persona 5_ story, rest assured, it's just not _this_ one.**

 **Yes, I said this is set in the same version of the _Persona_ universe as my story _Supernatural Serial Killers … Why Not?_ As is my _Persona 3_ story when I eventually release the bloody thing. In fact, when I get far enough into _SSK…WN?_ , you're going to be seeing my OC from this story turning up for a brief period of time with one _very_ noticeable difference to his character.**

 **The main pairing for this story is going to be OC/Ann. I really don't know what to do about the other pairings – Akira is going to be getting with either Makoto or Futaba, though I'm not sure which. I really don't know about anybody else, so if you could give me some suggestions with your reviews, that would be most helpful.**

 **Welcome to _How to Steal Hearts_!**

"Persona!" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts

 _"Persona!"_ – Writing

[Persona!] – Sign Language

{Persona!} - Phone

 **"** **Persona!"** – Shadows

 ** _"Persona!"_** \- Personas

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Monday, 11 April 2016

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

 _SLAM!_

 _CLICK!_

I sighed and smacked my lips together as the satisfaction of shutting up that infernal alarm clock washed over me. As I laid there in bed, it occurred to me that I really didn't want to go to school, just as it occurred to me every morning. And just like every other morning, I got up, anyway. I had to. If I didn't, there would be hell to pay. There would probably be hell to pay when I got into school, too, but at least that was the kind I could come home and get away from.

I took my uniform for Shujin Academy out of my closet and laid it out neatly on the bed, which wasn't looking so neat at this point. I didn't care.

I went into the bathroom and had a shower. The steaming hot water felt wonderful.

I wiped away the fog from the bathroom mirror so I could get a look at myself while I brushed my teeth. My skin was lightly tanned. I had mid-length, straight, pastel turquoise hair, and average-sized, dusty orange eyes. I had a pretty average body, as things went, though I was a bit on the skinnier side. As I stood in front of the mirror naked, I couldn't help but glance down at my throat – another thing I did every morning. There were no scars, as I had suspected there would be when the damage was initially done, but there was still a deformed look about the front of my neck, like a slight inward curve that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it.

I fought the urge to rub at the spot and instead continued to brush my teeth.

Then I walked back into my room and put on my school uniform. It was pretty basic as uniforms go – a black blazer with the Shujin Academy logo embroidered on the left breast, a white dress shirt, a pair of black trousers with red plaid patterns on them, and a pair of black dress shoes.

I plugged my earphones into my phone, started playing "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, and went downstairs. I went into the kitchen without so much as glancing into the living room and put some bread in the toaster. I boiled the kettle and made myself some tea at the same time – I poured the tea into my Thermos. When my toast was done, I buttered it, and then left the house, eating as I went with music blasting into my ears.

I didn't like spending too much time in the house.

There was no need for me to catch the overly-crowded train. I was within walking distance of the school. I wished I had brought an umbrella the second I stepped into the rain, but I didn't go back inside for one. By my logic, getting sick from the rain would give me an excuse to stay out of school for a day or two while also having an excuse not to leave my bedroom. It was a win-win for me.

Plus, staying inside would reduce the risk of me getting involved with any of those weird accidents.

It was such a bizarre situation – apparently, a bunch of drivers on the road just sort of … _stopped_ , that's the best way I can put it. Like, their bodies just kind of stopped working, and of course, that had been causing more than a few problems on the road. There had been no fatalities so far, to my knowledge, but if it kept on happening, then it was only a matter of time. I heard it was happening to a few trains, too. Just one more thing to make me grateful that I didn't have to take a train to school, I guess.

 _This shithole city's going to the dogs,_ I thought as I walked. _They just straight-up ignore a teacher using the students as his punching bags and sex toys, now people are having bizarre-o accidents like this … God, I can't wait until I'm old enough to leave this place._

I had it in my head that I was going to move out into the countryside one day. I spent a week in a small town back in 2011 and I liked that place well enough, even if there was some really weird shit going on there at the time. It was one of the few truly peaceful moments I could mention if I was asked.

As I walked near the train station, more and more people were running to escape the rain. Most of them had umbrellas. It was as I walked to go by the train station that I noticed two people.

One of them I had never seen before, but he stood out to me for some reason. He looked kind of like he was designed to be a harem protagonist in an animé, with the black hair and eyes that matched most of the people around us. The bushiness of his hair made him stand out, however, as did his glasses and his height – this guy was pretty tall for a high school student. He was wearing the Shujin Academy uniform, so I knew he went to my school.

The other was somebody most of the school was familiar with. I, too, knew her by reputation, a reputation that I always suspected was unfair – just because someone's attractive doesn't automatically make them a slut. I knew who it was even before she took down her hood; not many students at Shujin Academy modified their uniforms to such an extent. She wore the standard black blazer over a varsity-like white hoodie with some red and blue stripes at the bottom that was long enough to completely obscure her skirt from view. On her legs was a pair of red tights that really lived up to the name _tights_. She wore brown boots with yellow laces. When she finally pulled down her hood, it released her bushy pigtails of ash-blonde hair and unveiled her pretty face and dazzling blue eyes to the world. She wasn't fully Japanese, that much was easy to tell.

I think the guy was as captivated by her beauty as a lot of other guys are the first time they see her. I won't try to deny it, I was much the same way when I first saw her around the school. The guy stared at her, awestruck.

The girl – Takamaki Ann – seemed to sense his eyes on her and started looking around, eventually settling her gaze on him. She looked at him, gone out, for a moment, then smiled softly and turned away.

 _A rather odd way of reacting to someone staring at you,_ I reflected. _Then again, it isn't exactly common practice to keep staring after you've been caught, either … Hell, I don't even know what's going on anymore._

Then a grey car drove slowly past me and stopped beside the new guy and Takamaki-san. I knew that car. _Everyone_ knew that car.

 _Kamoshida …_ I thought grimly.

I know he was a teacher, but referring to him as Kamoshida-sensei would have left a bad taste in my unused mouth. I took one of my earphones out so that I could hear what was happening.

I heard the sounds of his car window rolling down. "Good morning," the bastard's voice came out. "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."

"Sure, thank you," said Takamaki-san. She was smiling, but it didn't take super-vision to see her smile fade as she actually got into the car.

"You need a lift, too?" Kamoshida asked the new guy. I knew he didn't mean it.

I think the new guy sensed that much by himself. "Nah," he said, smiling politely. His smile faded slightly just before the car actually drove off. I don't know what he saw, but it definitely seemed to set him on edge.

Then, running past me, came another person I knew by reputation, Sakamoto Ryuji. He had short spiky blond hair which was styled into a widow's peak and dark brown eyes. The outer sides of his eyebrows appear to have been shaved off. He wore the usual black blazer but unbuttoned to reveal a yellow T-shirt with a comic-style star symbol and the word "ZOMG!" on the chest. His plaid trousers were rolled up to reveal his ankles – the black suspenders that were normally worn on the shoulders, he let hang down loosely. He had a white belt and white trainers.

Sakamoto-san stopped by the new guy and stared after the car.

I had fully reached them by that point and despite my usual habit of just ignoring everyone, I felt the need to stop and stare, too. A girl getting into Kamoshida's car was never a good sign. I suddenly felt a sense of dread for a girl I had never even had a conversation with.

"Damn it," Sakamoto-san said under his breath. "Screw that pervy teacher."

 _Indeed_ , I thought.

"Pervy teacher …?" asked the new guy.

Sakamoto-san turned around and seemed to notice the new guy for the first time. "… What do you want?" he asked aggressively. "You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"

I got out my pad and paper and started writing. I tapped Sakamoto-san on the shoulder to get his attention, then showed him the paper. _"I think he's new,"_ it said.

"Huh?" Sakamoto-san looked confused. "Why aren't ya speakin—" His eyes widened. "Oh! You're Ochiai, right? Sorry, man, I didn't recognise you."

I shrugged to show him it was all right.

"Can't you talk?" the new guy asked me.

I shook my head.

"Wow … that sucks."

I shrugged and tilted my head from left to right to show that it didn't bother me. That was a complete lie. It did bother me and will probably always bother me, but there was no reason to draw sympathy from anybody. Sympathy is just really fucking annoying – _false_ sympathy is worse. I put my pen to the paper again and started writing.

" _Ochiai Hiroyasu,"_ the paper read. _"Nice to meet you."_

The new guy smiled. "Kurusu Akira," he said. "Nice to meet you, too."

"The guy in that car just now was Kamoshida," Sakamoto-san explained to Kurusu-san. "He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is – the king of the castle?" He looked at me. "Don't you agree?"

I nodded without hesitating.

"The king of a castle …?" Kurusu-san asked, blatantly confused.

"No, I mean …" Sakamoto-san rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Whatever. You'll know him soon enough. This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late."

That's when a migraine hit me like a truck. I doubled over and grabbed my throbbing head. From the corner of my eye, I could see that Kurusu-san and Sakamoto-san were doing the same. The pain passed pretty quickly and I was just left feeling light-headed, but that still didn't make it any more comfortable.

Sakamoto-san groaned. "My head hurts … Damn it … I wanna go home …"

 _You and me both, pal,_ I thought.

Sakamoto-san started walking, and I followed. Kurusu-san started following the both of us soon after. Sakamoto-san turned down an alleyway that acted as a shortcut to the school – I used it, myself, sometimes, but not frequently. I followed him down there that day. Something in my gut just told me that I should stick with these two. As we walked through the alley, I couldn't help but notice that something felt _off_. There was something different, but I couldn't tell what it was. It set me on edge, though.

And then I saw _it_.

Sakamoto-san stopped dead when he exited the alleyway. He was staring up at something.

I stepped out and looked, too, and I was as dumbstruck as he was.

 _What … the actual … fuck …?_ I asked in my mind.

In front of us, where the school building normally was, was a castle. A _big_ castle, at that. It wasn't the nice kind, either. It was the sort of thing I'd expect to find if I simply walked into Mordor. It was a massive structure built out of dark brown and grey stone. What windows there were, I could not clearly see through, and the light that shone from within them came out a hellish red. It looked like the sort of castle the protagonists of a horror film have to survive in for a night in order to collect a reward of some sort (normally just their lives).

That last comparison sent a bit of a shudder through me.

"We … didn't come the wrong way, though," Sakamoto-san said in confusion. "Yeah, this should be right. What's going on here? Guess we'll just have to go and ask."

 _Bad idea,_ I found myself thinking. _That's a very bad idea._

But, of course, we went anyway.

We walked up the stone steps and through the massive entrance door of the castle, which had one of those iron gates that you could lower and rise to keep people out. Luckily (or unluckily) for us, it was open. The inside was about as typical a castle interior as you can get. The floor was chequered with black and white tiles and there was a large red rug in the centre of the room. There was a big, fancy chandelier hanging from the ceiling and candles hung on every wall. The windows showed nothing but glowing white from outside, which was odd, but it was hardly the oddest thing to have happened so far.

"Th-That's weird …" said Sakamoto-san. "Where's the school …?"

[I think we're in it] I signed. The thought was mad – insane, even – but we had taken all the right directions to get to the school and I didn't remember there being any kind of castle in the area before, so it was the only logical assumption I could make. Even then, I didn't quite believe the words as I was signing them out with my hands.

"What?" asked Sakamoto-san. "I … I don't know sign language, dude, sorry. Can you go back to doin' the paper thing?"

"He says he thinks we're in the school," said Kurusu-san.

I looked at him in surprise. I had only used sign language as a force of habit because I wasn't thinking straight, I didn't actually expect either of them to _know_ it. That made things a lot easier, actually.

"What?" asked Sakamoto-san. He turned to me. "You goin' nuts, Ochiai? This place doesn't look anythin' like the school."

I turned to Kurusu-san and signed again. [But we came the right way. This castle is exactly where the school is. There isn't any other explanation.]

Kurusu-san kindly relaid this message to Sakamoto-san.

"I … I guess I see your point, but …" Sakamoto-san shook his head. "It _should_ be the school … It even said 'Shujin' on the gate … What's goin' on here?" He took out his phone and looked at it. "Out of service? Where'd we end up …?"

It was only at this point that I finally realised my music had stopped playing through my earphones. I was on Spotify Premium, so there really wasn't any way the music should have stopped considering the app's offline streaming services, but it had been cut off. That was what had been unsettling me, I realised, the sudden loss of sound in my ear had put me on edge.

Sakamoto-san looked at me. His eyes were wide with confused desperation. "The sign was for the school, right?"

I nodded in confirmation.

"What's going on here?" asked Kurusu-san.

"I-I dunno!" Sakamoto-san snapped. "I wanna know!"

 _So do I._

 _CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!_

The clinking of metal bumping against metal grabbed my attention and I turned, as did the other two. It was some sort of knight, soldier, guard, or something of the like. His armour was dark grey and had the light of the candles around the room reflecting off of it. Beneath the helmet, where a person's face would normally be poking through, there was a passive-looking blue mask. He had a nasty-looking shining sword and a massive dark grey shield.

 _Someone's taking their enthusiasm for medieval shit a bit too far,_ I thought nervously as I eyed this new arrival up and down.

"Jeez, you freaked me out …" said Sakamoto-san. "Who're you? You a student?" He walked toward the guard, which I thought was ill-advised. "Man, your costume's impressive … Is that armour real?" He got no response and that seemed to piss him off. "C'mon, don't just stand there. Say somethin'."

That's when another guard came in through the door and the two guards started pointing their swords at us.

I started to hold my arms up in preparation to defend myself. I wasn't a great fighter, I'll admit, but when it came to the fight, flight, or freeze instinct, I sure as hell wasn't a flight or freeze guy.

"… H-Hey, what's goin' on?" Sakamoto-san asked nervously.

"This _must_ be a prank," Kurusu-san said with more certainty than I think I'd have been able to muster.

[Pretty in-depth prank] I signed, not caring if anyone was looking or not.

"You really think so …?" Sakamoto-san asked Kurusu-san hopefully. One of the guards stepped closer and we got a look at the armour and weapons – they weren't fake. "… This shit's real." The other guard stepped closer. "C-Calm down! Timeout, man! We gotta run!"

"Got it," said Kurusu-san.

I nodded.

"Stop standin' around and run!" Sakamoto-san snapped at us.

The three of us took off running in the opposite direction of the guards … only to find two more guards closing in on us from that way. We stopped dead in our tracks.

Sakamoto-san grunted. "What's with these guys!?"

A guard hit Sakamoto-san in the back with his shield and Sakamoto-san fell to the ground with a yell.

"Ow …" Sakamoto-san groaned out. "Y-You're gonna break my bones, damn it! The hell you think you're—" He released another yell of pain.

The guards started closing in …

I was terrified …

Those swords … so sharp … Those shields … such thick metal …

I started shaking. _I'm going to die._ The thought was eerily calm, blunt, and certain. I gave myself something of a scare by thinking it.

 **"Take** **them away!"** one of the guards ordered.

One metal whack to the head later, I was unconscious.

* * *

"… Hey," said a familiar voice. It sounded far away and echoed.

I became acutely aware of a dull throbbing at the back of my head.

"Hey! Wake up, you two!"

I snapped my eyes open and was greeted by the dark grey stone brick that was the ceiling of the prison cell. Whatever I was lying on was covered in some sort of fabric sheet, but that didn't do anything to help my back on the uncomfortable surface. With some struggle, I sat up. I looked to my right and saw Kurusu-san was on the thing I can't stand to call a bed with me, also waking up and rubbing his head.

There were chains and shackles hanging from the walls. This was definitely a pretty old cell. We're talking Dark Ages stuff, here.

 _Oh,_ hell _, no, I ain't going in for that_ 50 Shades of Grey _shit!_ I thought as I nervously eyed the shackles hanging on the walls. The thought was so absurd that it nearly made me laugh. _Nearly_.

"You guys all right?" Sakamoto-san asked us.

I tilted my head from side to side to say "So-so."

"Yup," said Kurusu-san. "You?"

"Yeah, more or less," said Sakamoto-san. He stretched one of his arms out and started rubbing it, groaning a bit. He looked around the cell. "Looks like this ain't no dream … Ugh, what's goin' on!?" He ran over to the bars of the cell door and started banging on them loudly. "Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!" After a few seconds of nothing, he came back over to us. "Damn it, where _are_ we!? Is this some kinda TV set …?"

 _"_ _I don't see any cameras. Do you?"_ I wrote in my notepad and showed them.

"No," said Kurusu-san. "I don't."

" _UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ "

The scream startled me so much that I leapt to my feet without even meaning to do so. Kurusu-san stood up, too, and Sakamoto-san gave a start and turned around to face the cell door again. So far, all I had seen were those weird guard motherfuckers, so the thought that other people might be trapped in here really didn't occur to me. Now that the possibility opened up in my mind, however, I couldn't help but wonder how long these others might have been in here, how long it might take us to escape …

Kurusu-san and Sakamoto-san ran over to the cell door. I shook those thoughts from my mind and followed them. Now wasn't the time to get all pessimistic.

"Th-The hell was that just now …?" Sakamoto-san asked.

" _Please help … P-Please help … AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ "

"Whoa …" said Sakamoto-san, backing away from the bars a little. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa … You're shittin' me, right …?"

 _I really hope so._

"This is real bad …!" said Sakamoto-san. "Isn't there some way outta here!? C'mon, we gotta do something!"

[Like what?] I signed to Kurusu-san.

He hummed and started to look slowly around the room. Kurusu-san had a really intense thinking face. He walked over to some barrels just to the side of the door and looked at them, then shook his head and walked away – I guessed they were empty. Then he stopped and stared at the chains hanging from the wall. He walked toward them, stopping right before the wall, and rubbed his hand down one of them.

"Hey," said Sakamoto-san, "those chains're used for like … torturin' and stuff, right? Damn it! This shit ain't funny!"

My gaze was drawn in by the bed Kurusu-san and I had woken up on. _How long has it been since we got knocked out …?_ I wondered. A cold hand of nervousness gripped me. _Shit, I am so late for school! Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man …_ I started to wonder if the stay in this cell would be better than facing the music if I finally got home …

"Huh?" Sakamoto-san spoke up. "You guys here that?"

The three of us gathered by the cell door when the sound of metal footsteps grew nearer. Soon, a pair of guards approached our cell and stood outside.

 **"** **Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon,"** said one of the guards. **"Your charge is 'unlawful entry.' Thus, you will be sentenced to death."**

… _You know, on second thought, I think getting in trouble at home would be better,_ I decided.

"Say what!?" Sakamoto-san exclaimed.

 **"** **No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle,"** a disturbingly familiar voice said from behind the guards. It was the same as the one I had heard from the car earlier, only this one was distorted, much like the voices of the guards.

 _Kamoshida!_

Sure enough, the prick himself came waltzing up from behind his guards … only he sure as hell wasn't wearing what he usually wore to school. It was definitely him, with his long, black, and unkempt hair, his thick, bushy eyebrows, and his bizarrely square-shaped jaw. But he was wearing a fucking _cloak_ , a red one with light and dark pink hearts patterned all over it and with white fluff around the neck and going down the middle. On his head was a golden crown. And then there were his eyes … his normally black eyes were now a bright gold.

 _"_ _King of the castle," eh, Sakamoto-san?_ I thought. _Jesus … you really hit the nail on the head with that one, didn't you?_

"Huh?" Sakamoto-san said in confusion. "Wait … Is that you, Kamoshida?"

"Who?" asked Kurusu-san.

 **"** **I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto …"** Kamoshida turned his eyes toward me. **"And Ochiai, the little silent spook. My, my."** Kamoshida grinned. **"Are you two trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?"** He looked at Kurusu-san. **"And you brought a friend this time … because you can't do anything for yourselves."**

Sakamoto banged on the cell door aggressively. "This ain't funny, you asshole!" he yelled.

I was inclined to agree.

Kamoshida's smile faded into a scowl. **"Is that how you speak to a king?"** he asked. **"It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. You should just make like Ochiai and shut the hell up. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting** _ **me**_ **– the king."** His smirk returned. **"The punishment for that is death. It's time for an execution! Take him out!"**

One of the guards approached the cell door.

Kurusu-san, Sakamoto-san, and I all took a step away from the door. The guards were somehow even more intimidating in this enclosed space. The certainty of death gripped me once again.

"S-Stop it …!" said Sakamoto-san weakly as he backed away.

The guard opened the door and stepped in. He was followed by the other guard, who stood to the right of the door. Kamoshida walked in after the two. The first guard held his shield up and walked toward Sakamoto-san, forcing him to back away.

I backed up against one of the walls nervously.

"… God damn it …!" said Sakamoto-san. Then, quite unexpectedly, he charged forward with a little yell and pushed against the guard's shield. The guard staggered back and fell to the ground.

 _The fuck?_ I thought, tilting my head in confusion. _Maybe these pricks aren't so tough, after all._

The thought of it filled me with hope.

"I ain't down for this shit!" Sakamoto-san growled. He looked between Kurusu-san and I. "C'mon, we're outta here!"

Then a guard came from the back of the cell and nailed Sakamoto-san in the stomach with the blunt side of his sword. Sakamoto-san fell to the ground with a pained grunt.

[Where the hell did he come from?] I signed to Kurusu-san.

Kurusu-san shrugged, sweating.

I could feel myself sweating, too. It was a cold one, filled with fear. Fear for my life.

The three guards stood surrounding Sakamoto-san, who was kneeling on the ground cradling his stomach.

Kurusu-san started trying to push against one of their backs.

"Just go!" Sakamoto-san managed to yell weakly. "Get outta here …! These guys are serious!"

Kamoshida looked between Kurusu-san and me, clearly amused. **"Oh?"** he said. **"Running away, are we? What heartless friends you are."**

"They ain't friends …" said Sakamoto-san. "C'mon! Hurry up and go!"

 **"** **What's the matter?"** Kamoshida asked us. **"Too scared to run away? Hmph, pathetic scum isn't worth my time …"** He looked down at Sakamoto-san and smirked again. **"I'll focus on this one's execution …"** He walked forward, past the two guards, and picked Sakamoto-san up roughly by the front of his shirt. The grin on his face was now wide and manic, bordering on laughter. **"Take this!"**

He threw a solid punch at Sakamoto-san's face.

I flinched as Sakamoto-san yelled out. Seeing Kamoshida punch a student wasn't anything new, but this was the first time, I think, that he had been doing so with the intention of killing them. Even worse was the fact that, despite all the evidence suggesting that this was some sort of copy or imitation of Kamoshida, it was so easy to picture him acting this way and doing these things that I had no doubt that he was the genuine article. But why the king getup? What was with the golden eyes? And what the _hell_ had he done with the school?

 **"** **Lowly scum!"**

Two more punches.

 _I can't watch this,_ I thought and went to close my eyes tightly … but stopped myself. _I can't just … just_ stand here _and watch this!_

Taking a deep breath in an unsuccessful attempt to calm my nerves, I pushed myself forward into the closest thing I could get to a run. In the middle of my charge, however, one of the guards got in front of me and rammed his shield into my chest. The impact knocked all the air from my lungs and I started to choke silently. I doubled over, backed off, and had to put a hand against the wall to steady myself.

 **"** **Looks like the silent spook's growing a backbone,"** said Kamoshida. **"Good. He should be more fun to deal with than you."**

He delivered a punch to Sakamoto-san's stomach.

 **"** **Useless pest!"**

And Sakamoto-san fell to the floor after another punch to the face.

Kamoshida glanced uncaringly down at him and spat. **"… Hmph. Where'd your energy from earlier go? Ochiai just did more fighting back than you and it isn't even his turn yet."**

One of the guards picked Sakamoto-san up by the back of his blazer and threw him at Kamoshida's feet.

 **"** **A peasant like you isn't worth beating,"** said Kamoshida. **"I'll have you killed right now."**

"Have you lost your mind!?" Kurusu-san shouted.

 **"** **Hm?"** Kamoshida hummed, turning to face Kurusu-san. **"What …? Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am."** He walked toward Kurusu-san until their faces were inches from each other. **"That look in your eyes irritates me!"** He brought his leg up and kicked Kurusu-san in the chest, knocking him back and onto the floor, against the wall. **"Hold him there … After the peasant, it's his turn to die. Ochiai can go last – you know what they say about being kinder to the disabled. He gets to live _just_ long enough to see these two die."**

 _Over my dead body,_ I thought.

I stood up, having finally gotten enough breath back, and went to charge again. This time, the guard forced his arm against my throat and backed me against the wall, holding me there. I clawed desperately at the metal armour, but it did me no good.

Kurusu-san tried to charge, but two of the guards grabbed him by his shoulders and forced him against the wall.

"No … No, I don't wanna die …" Sakamoto-san whined out. As tough a guy as he was, a situation like this was bound to make anyone crack eventually. It was just unfortunate for Sakamoto-san that Kamoshida had chosen to focus on him.

Kamoshida laughed loudly.

One of the guards lifted Sakamoto-san up by the front of his shirt and forced him against the wall. He lifted him up … up … up … until Sakamoto-san's legs were flailing about wildly and his arms were clutching at the guard's arm. The guard pointed his sword at Sakamoto-san's chest, ready to strike …

Kurusu-san started struggling wildly.

Despite the fact that the guards were holding his shoulders, he looked like his whole body was being racked with pain.

Then he released one massive scream of pain up into the air.

 **"** **Execute him!"** Kamoshida ordered the guard holding Sakamoto-san.

" _That's enough_!" Kurusu-san shouted in rage.

Kamoshida's face morphed from an expression of triumph to one of absolute rage as he turned to face Kurusu-san. **"What was that …?"** he asked in a dangerously low voice.

The guard released Sakamoto-san, who dropped to his feet with a very deep breath.

 **"** **You desire to be killed that much …?"** Kamoshida asked Kurusu-san. **"Fine!"** He nodded to one of the guards holding Kurusu-san against the wall.

The guard took his shield and full-on _whacked_ it against Kurusu-san's face.

Kurusu-san was knocked to the side but retained his footing. His now shattered glasses fell to the floor in front of him.

The two guards pinned him against the wall again, this time with a pair of spears that crisscrossed in front of his throat. A third guard stood in front of him, sword ready to strike.

Sakamoto-san, who had fallen to the floor shortly after taking his relieved breath, tried to stand up but fell down with a grunt.

I was still being pinned to the wall by my throat.

Kamoshida raised his hand …

The guard raised his sword …

… and then Kurusu-san's eyes opened wide and an incredibly powerful wind blew through the cell, knocking all of the guards away from us and knocking me to the ground. Kamoshida put an arm to his head and gritted his teeth against the wind. It seemed to gather around Kurusu-san like some sort of gaseous, moving cocoon.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, it went.

 **"** **Huh?"** said Kamoshida.

For the first and only time in my life, I shared the sentiment.

Kurusu-san still stood against the wall, but the spears were not enclosed around him anymore, so it would have been a simple matter to move away. But there _was_ something else knew … that mask … A white domino mask with sharp ends, a sharp part going just a bit down the nose, and black around the eyes sat on his face where his glasses once were. He seemed just as confused by it as I was, as he lifted his hands to it and started to touch it like he was trying to figure out if it was really there.

"Huh?" he said, feeling it. " _Huh_?"

He got a good grip on it and started trying to pull the mask off his face. It didn't budge. He flailed around wildly with his hands tightly gripping the mask and yanking at it, but it wouldn't leave its spot over his eyes. Then he moved both hands to the left side of the mask and started to pull on just that side …

… and it started to come off …

… but a _hell_ of a lot of blood started spewing from where it was pulling off from!

 _Is it … is it ATTACHED TO HIS FUCKING SKIN!?_ I thought in a blind panic.

With an ear-bleeding cry of pain, Kurusu-san yanked the mask off his face, leaving a large mass of flowing blood where it once was. The blood spewed out as the mask came off and continued to drip down his face as he brought his arms back down to his sides.

His head was facing down.

His hair covered his eyes.

And then the strangest thing happened.

He _smiled_.

Then he tilted his head up to face everyone …

His eyes had turned gold.

His smile morphed into a full-on grin.

Before I had any time to think on this, the next completely insane thing happened.

Kurusu-san seemed to explode into bright blue flames that threw the blood right off his face. Laughter from a voice I had never heard before echoed around the room as the flames spread from him to behind and above him.

Kamoshida and all the guards backed away.

I watched, transfixed, as the bright blue mass of flame seemed to gain a face of red fire: a grinning, demonic face.

The flames then left Kurusu-san, who chuckled as the strange being hovered behind him, now with chains hanging off of it.

The flames dissipated completely …

It was a metallic figure with red legs and arms and a black torso with bits of white that made it look like it was wearing an old aristocrat's suit – there was even what appeared to be a white piece of fabric mimicking a fancy scarf. Its head was a strange shape – looking like an upside down triangle with the two points at the top extended upwards while the rest stayed the same – that was white on the right side and red on the left side. On the ends of its hands were long black claws, and on its back was a pair of massive black, feathered wings.

Kurusu-san was also dressed differently.

He had on a large black overcoat with the large collar extended upwards. It was on above a dark grey shirt, a pair of black trousers, and on his feet, a pair of black boots.

 _What the ever-loving fuck is going on …?_ I thought in bewilderment.

Kurusu-san thrust his hand outwards, and the creature behind him whipped its chains out, knocking all the guards away with ease.

Kamoshida back against the wall and whimpered then ran out of the cell.

"W-What the …?" asked Sakamoto-san.

Kurusu-san looked between the two of us and grinned.

 _ **"**_ _ **I am the pillager of twilight,"**_ said the creature that floated in the air behind him, still with blue flames dancing around it. _**"'Arsene'!"**_

"What the …?" Sakamoto-san said again.

[What the fuck is that?] I signed to Kurusu-san, probably too quickly.

 _ **"**_ _ **I am the rebel's soul that resides within you,"**_ said Arsene. He was talking to Kurusu-san. _**"If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."**_

"Give me your power," said Kurusu-san.

 ** _"_** _ **Hmph, very well …"**_

 **"** **Who the hell are you …!?"** Kamoshida asked in outrage and fear from outside the still open cell. I have to admit, it was satisfying seeing those emotions on his face. **"Guards!"** All of the knocked-over guards stood back up. **"Start by killing that one!"**

As if this scenario couldn't get any more terrifying, the guards then all morphed into jack-o'-lantern looking things with wizard hats, capes, and lanterns in their hands.

 **"** **You'll learn the true strength of my men!"** Kamoshida announced dementedly.

 _ **"**_ _ **Detest the enemies before you!"**_ said Arsene. _**"Change that animosity into power … and unleash it!"**_

" _Persona_!" shouted Kurusu-san.

Arsene bent down and spread his wings out, pointing one of his clawed hands at the crypt-dwelling pyromaniacs. A number of … I want to say "strings" of red and yellow energy erupted from the ground around one of the pumpkin-headed freaks and then converged on it, making it flinch rather visibly. The energy wasn't really in "strings," as such, but they were long and thin, so that's what I'm going with.

As Kurusu-san seemed like he was getting ready for another attack, the thing he just damaged floated toward him and swung its lantern around. It hit Kurusu-san, but he did little more than flinch.

The second crypt-dwelling pyromaniac followed soon after with much the same results.

 _ **"**_ _ **Swing your blade!"**_ Arsene shouted.

Kurusu-san charged toward the crypt-dwelling pyromaniac he had already damaged and delivered a slash downwards and to the right, straight upwards, and then he brought it down for an upwards-to-the-right slash.

The crypt-dwelling pyromaniac vanished in a torrent of black smoke.

 _ **"**_ _ **This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"**_

The only remaining crypt-dwelling pyromaniac swung his lantern again, hitting Kurusu-san but once again doing little to no damage.

" _Persona_!" Kurusu-san shouted again. He pointed at his enemy. "You're mine."

The red and yellow energy exploded from the ground, struck the crypt-dwelling pyromaniac head-on, and it, too, vanished in an explosion of black smoke.

Then Arsene vanished and the mask was back on Kurusu-san's face.

So amazed by these events was I that I didn't even question that there were less crypt-dwelling pyromaniacs than there had been guards, a minute ago.

"What …?" said Sakamoto-san. "What was that just now …?"

[I would like to know that, as well] I signed.

Kamoshida walked back into the cell now that Arsene was gone and glared at Kurusu-san. **"You little …!"**

Sakamoto-san got up and charged at him.

Kamoshida yelled out in pain as Sakamoto-san landed a punch right to his face.

"You like that, you son of a bitch!?" Sakamoto-san asked with a triumphant grin on his face.

I clapped enthusiastically. I kind of felt like a retard in doing so, but it's the only way I can truly express approval, these days.

"The key!" said Kurusu-san.

"Y-You mean this?" Sakamoto-san picked up a large key from the floor beside where Kamoshida had landed. The three of us ran out of the cell, and Sakamoto-san locked the door behind us. "Okay, it's locked!"

Kamoshida stood from his spot on the floor and glared at us through the bars. **"Damn you!"**

I then used one of the only pieces of sign language that was truly universal: I stuck my middle finger up at him. I felt Sakamoto-san pat me on the back in approval.

"Hey …!" he said to Kurusu-san. "What was that just now!?"

[It was kind of like a Stand from _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure_ ] Then I remembered that Sakamoto-san couldn't understand sign language, so I wrote it down quickly and showed it to him. It was a testament to how long I'd been doing this that the rushed handwriting was still eligible.

"… Yeah, I see what you mean. But … that stuff ain't real life, is it?"

I shrugged and wrote: _"All of this has been pretty fucking bizarre so far, that's all I'm saying."_

"Doesn't explain his clothes, though."

As though in response to his statement, Kurusu was surrounded in what appeared to be white smoke. When it faded, he was back in his school uniform and his mask was nowhere to be found. Even his glasses were back perfectly intact, conveniently enough.

"Whoa, it went back to normal …!?" said Sakamoto-san.

I clapped again, this time slower and more sarcastically. _"So happy to have you on the case, Holmes. Your skills of observation know no bounds."_

"Hey, I am _not_ afraid to punch a guy who can't talk!"

Kamoshida grabbed the bars roughly and started shaking the cell door. I backed off out of nervousness.

 **"** **You bastards!"** he shouted at us.

"God, this is fuckin' nuts!" said Sakamoto-san. "Anyways, let's scram! You lead the way!"

Kurusu-san nodded and started running.

I followed right along.

 **"** **God damn thieves …!"** I heard Kamoshida growl out. **"After them! Don't let them escape! Y-You bastards! You think you can get away with doing this to me!?"**

"I don't give a shit!" said Sakamoto-san. "I ain't down for _any_ of this! C'mon, let's get outta here!"

Just outside the cell, there was some sort of river or moat that was running with unnaturally bright blue water. There was a dirt pathway to the left that went up some stairs. Kurusu-san led us up those. There were a lot of bars up there, blocking our path, but it looked like there was a wooden bridge going across the water. The only problem was …

 _It just_ had _to be fucking broken,_ I thought.

"Think we can jump across?" asked Sakamoto-san.

On reflection, it wasn't actually that far across.

Kurusu-san went to the edge and leapt across with ease. Sakamoto-san did the same just after. I hesitated a second, looking down at the water and gulping, before taking a deep breath. I walked forward and pushed off the floor, clearing the distance with no trouble.

To our left was an open gate. We went through. There was another dirt track that took us up a slope. It didn't look like there was anywhere else to go, but Kurusu-san went to the left and jumped, landing on a cage that was sitting in the water. Then he jumped to another. Sakamoto-san jumped to the one Kurusu-san was on before. Kurusu-san jumped from the cage he was on to the dirt track on the other side of the water. Sakamoto-san jumped to the next cage.

I was nervous on my feet, but I thought I could make it. I jumped to the cage Sakamoto-san had just been on. My foot slipped through one of the gaps in the bars and I scraped my angle on the rough metal, but I managed to pull myself up quickly enough and jumped to the next one, as Sakamoto-san was already on the other side. I then jumped the last jump and was with the other two again.

"You okay?" Kurusu-san asked me.

[Fine] I signed. [That scrape took a bit of skin off, but it'll scab over in a few minutes. Should be good.]

He nodded at me and we kept on our way.

We turned left again, this time going down the slope. There was a more intact but still pretty unstable-looking wooden bridge that took us over the water. Walking was uncomfortable thanks to the ankle scrape, but I was managing. We ran past several empty cells as we moved.

"Hold on," said Kurusu-san raising a hand and stopping us in our tracks.

He turned right, into the only open cell we had seen thus far. There was a small hole near the bottom of the left-hand wall. Kurusu-san got on his hands and knees and started to crawl through.

I was quick to follow after him this time. Sakamoto-san's bag was going to get stuck, I could tell, and I didn't want to get stuck with an eyeful of his ass anytime soon.

"Crap! My bag's stuck!"

 _Fucking called it._

We came out in a room with more chains on the walls and a few barrels scattered about. We immediately turned left and took off out of there. Then a right and down the dirt track and a slope.

"Hey, hold up!" said Sakamoto-san.

He crouched down by the corner we were about to run around. Kurusu-san and I did the same.

"Look!" Sakamoto-san hissed quietly. "There's some guys in armour over there. They'll prolly call for backup if we try and take 'em on. We should go some other way …!"

And back up the slope we went.

We ran until we came across a larger bridge to the right, which we went across.

"Is this a drawbridge?" asked Sakamoto-san. "Dude, the hell is this place?"

 _A fucking_ castle _!_ I wished I could yell at him.

We got off the bridge, took a right, and went down another dirt slope.

"Get down!" Kurusu-san hissed at us.

The three of us took cover behind a pile of boxes and barrels as the guards from the other side of the water came around the corner we had seen them from and moved in the direction we had come from.

"Over there …" said Sakamoto-san. "They're lookin' for us, right? I ain't playin' along with this anymore! We gotta find a way outta this God damn place!"

"Working on it, Sakamoto-san," said Kurusu-san.

We made a left and came to a spiral staircase, which we ascended. It was a very tiring experience. At the top, to the right, we found a large wooden door. Through it was basically more of the same. Water flowed in front of us and our only option was to go left. We got moving in that direction, and then …

"H-Hey …" Sakamoto-san said weakly. "Look …"

There were cages hanging over the water in here. The big difference between these cages and the ones downstairs, however, as that these ones had _people_ in them. Even worse, they looked like they were _students_ if the Shujin uniforms they wore were anything to go by. It was impossible to recognise them, though, since their heads were covered by metal helmets.

The image sent a chill racing down my spine.

"We really did hear people screamin' …" said Sakamoto-san, who was clearly as horrified as I was. "So we ain't the only ones who got captured! Is, uh … Is he okay …?"

 _They don't_ look _very okay,_ I thought grimly.

We stared in abject horror for a few more moments. I found myself cringing inwardly even as I struggled to keep a straight face. This day had started out so very normal for me, yet I had somehow ended up at Destination Fucked so quickly I'm still surprised I didn't get any kind of whiplash from it.

We got moving again after a fashion. There was nothing we could do to get to those poor souls.

And then we found a wall.

"Another dead end …?" said Sakamoto-san. "Damn it! How the hell're we supposed to get outta here!?"

 _"_ _As nice as it would be, I doubt it was Kamoshida's intention to let people leave,"_ I wrote out and showed him.

He just grunted.

"… Hey, you there," said a high-pitched voice from nearby. "Blondie! Frizzy hair! Skinny! Look over here!"

I turned around to face where the voice was coming from. The other two did the same. I was now very confused – this voice sounded relatively normal. The only voices I'd heard in here so far were all distorted and normally filled with aggression. I got even more confused when I saw what was in the cell the voice had come from.

 _Is that … a cat?_ I blinked, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. _I have officially gone mad._

The small creature that was standing with its – hands? paws? whatever – against the bars of the cell barely came up to my knee in height. It was pitch black with white paws(?) and two little yellow circles at the tops of its legs. The bottom portion of its head, extending to just above the mouth, was also white. Its eyes were big, round, and blue. Its ears were pointed, just like a cat's. To top it all off, it was wearing a little yellow Ascot.

"What is this thing!?" exclaimed Sakamoto-san.

"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!?" the cat(?) asked desperately. "Get me out of here! Look, the key's right there!" He started pointing at something.

"We're trying to get the hell out of here …!" said Sakamoto-san. "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy, too."

 _An enemy that small?_ I thought, raising an eyebrow. _I think we could take him._

"I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy!?" The cat-thing brought up a good point. "Help me out!"

"… A cat?" asked Kurusu-san in a tone that implied his mind had only just caught up with the conversation.

The cat-thing's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am _not_ a cat! Say that again and I'll make you regret it!"

 _CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!_

The sound of the armour clinking together made my blood run cold.

"They're catchin' up already …!" Sakamoto-san said with wide eyes. He took out his phone. "Shit, there's still no service. Ain't there any way to contact someone outside!? How the hell do we get out …!?"

"Hey, you three!" the cat-thing snapped. "You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there. You don't want to get caught and executed, right?"

"You better not be lying," Kurusu-san warned.

"I'm not lying!" said the cat-thing, starting to look worried. "It's the truth!"

"This thing sounds like it's all talk …" said Sakamoto-san.

"If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!" said the cat-thing.

"Whadda we do …?" asked Sakamoto-san.

 _"_ _I say we go for it. We're already probably gonna fucking die, so what's the harm in showing a little trust? Besides, if he IS lying, we can give him a boot to his massive head before we go. Might be worth it just for the entertainment value."_ I wrote all this down and showed it to them.

"… You know, you're _really_ not how I expected," said Sakamoto-san. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess 'cause you can't talk, I just thought you'd be all meek and shy."

I rolled my eyes. That was what _everyone_ thought. Well, the ones who didn't think I was quiet because I did a lot of sneaking around, anyway. _Ah, the joys of a high school rumour mill._ "Ghost of the Girls' Locker Room," in-fucking-deed, Kamoshida, you cunt.

The sounds of the guards got closer.

"Are you seriously not messin' with us!?" Sakamoto-san asked the cat-thing.

"If you don't hurry, they'll catch you," said the cat-thing.

"F-Fine …" sighed Sakamoto-san. He walked over to where the cat-thing had pointed and found the keys to the cell. He unlocked the cell door and opened it.

The cat-thing walked out of the cell and stretched out his arms(?). "Ahhh … Freedom tastes so great … "

"Now, where's the exit, you monster cat!?" asked Sakamoto-san.

"Don't call me a cat!" the cat-thing told him. "I am Morgana!"

"Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again!?"

"A-All right, sheesh! Follow me, and stay quiet!"

 _Not a problem,_ I thought.

Morgana-san ran off ahead a little.

"Oh well …" said Sakamoto-san. "Guess we just gotta follow it."

 _"_ _I'm pretty sure it's a 'he,'"_ I wrote out quickly.

"Whatever."

We followed Morgana-san forwards a few feet, then drew to a stop as he did. We stopped beside a raised drawbridge. Morgana-san was sitting and staring at a large statue of Kamoshida's head.

"What're you doin'?" Sakamoto-san asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" asked Morgana-san. "I'm lowering the bridge." Morgana-san turned to face Kurusu-san. "You, Frizzy Hair. It seems like you pick up on things faster than our Blondie over here. Try checking around the mou—"

Looking at the statue, something clicked into place in my head and a grin broke out across my face. I walked toward the statue, put my hand in its mouth, and pulled its jaw down so that its gruesomely smiling mouth was open. The statue's eyes glowed. The sounds of chains moving filled the air as the drawbridge lowered before us.

"How the hell did you know to do that!?" Sakamoto-san asked me.

 _"_ _The jaw looked loose, like it was hanging off or something. The rest of the statue looks pretty solid, so I figured it was like that for a reason,"_ I wrote.

"Huh …" said Morgana-san, looking up at me. "Not bad, Skinny. Not bad at all. To be honest, the fact that you haven't been talking made me think you might be stupid."

"No, he just can't talk," said Kurusu-san.

"Ah." Morgana-san winced in sympathy. "That's a shame. Come on, let's get going!"

We ran across the drawbridge, but as we reached the other side, a guard came out from the left. I skidded to a stop and wobbled a bit on my feet, but managed to keep my footing. Sakamoto-san, on the other hand, fell on his ass as he tried to back away.

"A-Aah!" yelled Sakamoto-san. "Shit … Shit, it's them!"

"Tch." Morgana-san made a sound with his tongue as he jumped over Sakamoto-san's head. "You amateur! Stay still! Hey, you!" He pointed at Kurusu-san, who was now decked out in that weird gear again. "You could fight, right? Let's go!" Morgana-san jumped and did a little flip. "Come …! _Zorro_!"

An explosive beam of bright blue light erupted around Morgana-san. I raised my hands to shield my squinting eyes from the light. The light mostly died down, but it was still surrounding … the massive figure floating just behind Morgana-san. It was a massive armoured figure with legs that were way too thin to hold its massive body. Its helmet had two half-circle yellow eyes. There was a large _Z_ on its stomach. There was a black cape flowing behind it. There was a rapier in its right hand that was normal sized by my standards but looked positively _tiny_ in its massive hand.

 _Zorro …?_ I thought. _As in_ The Mask of Zorro _…? Jesus Christ, what's next? Antonio Banderas' voice comes out of it?_ I was almost certain that I was completely insane at this point. Either that or somebody had spiked something I had eaten recently. One of the two.

"Y-You got one of those things, too!?" asked Sakamoto-san.

The guard exploded into a mass of black slime and began to transform into something else.

"Hmph," said Morgana-san, crossing his arms, "we will promptly shut them up!"

The guard became two separate monsters. One was a crypt-dwelling pyromaniac like in the cells before, but the other was some sort of brown humanoid creature with a pointed nose, slits for irises in yellow eyes, and pointed ears. It appeared to be bald.

"Damn Shadows … they've taken up intercept positions!" said Morgana-san. "It means they're holding nothing back and are serious to kill us! I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let's go!"

" _Persona_!" Kurusu-san shouted, then ripped off his mask among a spouting of blood.

Arsene came into being once again. He unleashed the same red and yellow energy out of the floor as before and sent it at the bedside brute. It didn't seem to do much damage.

"Hmph, I knew you were an amateur," said Morgana-san cockily. " _This_ is how you fight! _Zorro_ , show your might!"

Zorro swung his rapier around in a swish-and-flick motion and a torrent of green wind blew around the crypt-dwelling pyromaniac. This seemed to damage it, strangely enough, as it fell to the floor when the wind dissipated.

"Strike at an enemy's weakness to knock them down!" said Morgana-san. "Use that opening to strike again! That's the most basic of basics! Remember it well! C'mon, let's hurry and get through this! _Zorro_!"

Zorro repeated his actions from before and hit the downed crypt-dwelling pyromaniac with more wind. This time, the wind killed it and it vanished in that puff of black smoke.

The bedside brute flew over and used the claws on its feet to claw at Morgana-san's head. It hit, but it didn't have long to relish in this most minor of triumphs, as Arsene brought that yellow and red energy out of the floor again and nailed it head-on. One puff of black smoke later, the bedside brute was no more.

"Not bad," said Morgana-san when Arsene and Zorro had vanished. "Your Persona's pretty powerful."

"Persona …?" asked Sakamoto-san. "Y'mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?"

"Yes," said Morgana-san. "You saw how Frizzy Hair here ripped off his mask when he summoned it, right? Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that …"

Kurusu-san's weird clothes vanished again and he was back in the Shujin Academy uniform.

[I really wish your clothes would make their fucking mind up] I signed at him in a little amusement.

He chuckled slightly. "Me, too," he said.

Morgana-san hummed. "It looks like you don't have full control over your power yet," he said. "The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all—"

Sakamoto-san groaned. "That's enough! This crap doesn't make any sense!"

"Can't you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie!?"

"Don't call me Blondie! My name's Ryuji …"

Morgana-san turned his head around like he was realising something. "Actually, there's no time for me to lecture you! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Let's go! Oh, but before that … take these. Use them carefully, okay?" He handed Kurusu-san three pill bottles.

 _Did this cat just give us drugs?_ I asked in my head. _That is either awesome or horrifying … I'm really not sure which._

"Come on, we should hurry," said Morgana-san. "It's not much farther to the exit. Just make sure you're good on HP, okay?"

 _What?_

"There's still a chance we'll end up having to fight in here."

 _Fucking WHAT did this pussy just say!?_

I used my hands to make a _T_ shape, tapping one hand atop the other in order to display urgency. This wasn't particularly _urgent_ , now that I think about it, but at the time, I was a bit too baffled by what the _fuck_ Morgana-san had just said to think straight. So I got my pad out and started writing.

 _"_ _Did you REALLY just say 'HP'? I mean REALLY!? What the fuck do you think this is, some kind of video game!?"_

Morgana-san just blinked up at me after reading it. "Does it matter?" he asked. "It's much easier than saying 'Hey, make sure all your blood's where it's meant to be,' you know?"

 _That doesn't make it any less fucking ridiculous to say out loud,_ I thought but didn't write it out. I just nodded so that we could get moving again.

We ran straight ahead and up a stone staircase. We were definitely getting closer to re-entering the actual castle if the vast improvement in architecture from where we were was anything to go by. We got to the top of the stairs and kept on running forward. Ahead of us, I could see a large wooden contraption that looked like an upright rectangular cuboid of sorts – the part closest to us looked like a wall of wooden scaffolding, and the part past that was just solid planks of wood right up to the top. We moved toward it until Sakamoto-san drew to a sudden stop as we made to pass by one of the cells.

"Hold on a sec!" he said.

I got confused for a moment, but then I saw the person in the cell. He was a teenager, around our age, and he was wearing … _No way …!_ He was wearing a red and white shirt and tracksuit bottoms: the uniform of our school's sports teams.

"I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearin' before …" said Sakamoto-san. "Damn it! I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!"

 _Probably for the best,_ I thought. Ryuji Sakamoto was very infamous around the school as the "track traitor" after he tried to stand up to Kamoshida while he was on the track team and was not only kicked off as a result but apparently, Kamoshida had started going harder on the track team after the incident, to the point where he ended it entirely and managed to blame it on Sakamoto-san. To make matters worse, Kamoshida had started to spread rumours about Sakamoto-san being a violent delinquent, which of fucking _course_ everyone believed because they all brown-nose that perverted bastard.

Every student in Shujin Academy had _some_ reason to hate Kamoshida, and I was no exception.

But Sakamoto-san … he had a reputation to ruin, to begin with, so he probably had it worse than I did.

"Come on, let's go!" Morgana-san urged us.

"Hold on, damn it!" said Sakamoto-san.

"What is it? We need to go, fast!"

"But … who are these guys?"

"Do you _really_ think you have time to worry about other people right now!? Besides, they're—"

 **"** **There!"**

The guard's voice startled me as the large wooden contraption that had been up ahead moved. The part that looked like scaffolding rose in our direction and the solid part lowered in the opposite direction – it was a drawbridge. The second it lowered, the guard on the other side of it started to move toward us.

"You should've listened to me …!" Morgana-san hissed at Sakamoto-san.

"Let's fight," said Kurusu-san. Those weird clothes appeared on him again.

"I'm glad you stick to your guns," said Morgana-san, smiling.

The guard exploded into red and black goop as it started to reform itself. In its place appeared two identical small humanoid creatures which were definitely female. Had this been any other situation, I might have found her attractive. She had brown hair and pale skin and wore a thin, dark blue leotard that hugged her body, along with a long pair of gloves and long leggings that match the dark blue colour. On her back was a pair of fairy wings.

"Looks like it's raring to go, too!" said Morgana-san.

" _Persona_!" said Kurusu-san, ripping off his mask, and Arsene appeared.

Arsene caused the red and yellow energy to spring up below one of the beguiling girls. It hit her head on and she let out a little distorted scream, then fell to the ground. Then Arsene elegantly spun around with his wings spread, hitting the beguiling girl head-on with one of his wings. She gave a final yell and exploded into black smoke.

" _Persona_!" yelled Morgana-san, and Zorro popped up behind him.

Zorro waved his sword and caused the small gale of wind to crash into the other beguiling girl, which made her flinch, but otherwise, did nothing.

The beguiling girl tried to send something at Morgana-san with her hand, but he jumped out of the way.

 _Truly, he is as agile as a cat,_ I thought.

Kurusu-san darted forward and used his knife to slash at the beguiling girl a few times. She, like her fellow, exploded into black smoke and was no more.

Then Kurusu-san's clothes changed back to his school uniform and the Personas vanished.

"All right!" cheered Morgana-san. "Let's get away before more show up!"

"Hold on, we can't just leave these guys here …!" said Sakamoto-san.

I was inclined to agree with him. But I was curious – how was a member of the track team in a cage here and he hadn't been reported missing? People, quite infuriatingly, had a bad habit of completely ignoring the things Kamoshida did for the sake of making the school look good, but something on _this_ scale wasn't something you can just cover up without anybody noticing. There was more to this than we knew and that made me hesitate.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Morgana-san asked in irritation. He let out a little growl. "… There's no time to explain. Look, I'm going. If you don't want to follow, be my guest!" He then started running off ahead.

"Damn it …" Sakamoto-san muttered. "Fine, I'm coming!" He ran off after him.

Kurusu-san and I followed closely behind.

After going across the newly opened drawbridge, we came across a narrow, barely lit staircase that went upwards.

"The entrance hall is right above here!" said Morgana-san. "The exit's close … Keep it up!"

We ran up the stairs and, true to Morgana-san's words, we came out inside the entrance hall. The large doors we had come in through were firmly closed, though. Morgana-san kept running. I took this as a sign that he knew of another way out. We ran into a corridor on the other side of the entrance hall and went right to the end. Morgana-san stopped when we came to a door on the left.

"We're here!" he said.

"Finally!" said Sakamoto-san. "We're saved …!"

 _About time, too,_ I thought, huffing and puffing silently. _I'm not used to running so much … I think I've developed a newfound respect for the bullshit the track team have to put up with even_ on top _of Kamoshida Cuntychops …_

Sakamoto-san rushed over … to a door past the one on the left that was on the right and started bashing against it. He grunted as the door resisted him. "… It's not openin'!" he grunted. He turned around, glaring at Morgana-san. "D'you trick us, you jerk!?"

I waved a hand in front of Morgana-san to divert Sakamoto-san's attention onto me. Once he was looking at me, I pointed to the door on our left.

"Skinny is right," said Morgana-san. "It's this door over here." He pushed the door open and went inside.

"H-Hey, wait up!" said Sakamoto-san.

We all walked into the room after Morgana-san. It looked like storage space. There were a few near-empty bookshelves on one side of the room, but not much else.

"Where are we supposed to get out from here!?" asked Sakamoto-san. "There aren't even any windows!"

Morgana-san sighed. "Amateur … This is the most basic of basics."

"Are we going to die here?" Kurusu-san asked bluntly.

"That's right," said Morgana-san. His voice was so exaggerated that it was obvious he was mocking us. "Everything's hopeless and black like my fur— _Now why would I die here with you three!?_ The ventilation shaft, you morons! You guys should be able to squeeze through it one at a time. Skinny should have an easier time of it."

Slightly miffed and suddenly empathetic with Sakamoto-san's hatred of the name "Blondie," I quickly wrote a sentence out on my paper. _"My name is Ochiai Hiroyasu, NOT 'Skinny.' Call me Hiroyasu or shorten it, if you like. I don't really care."_

"We're almost out of here, dummy!" said Morgana-san. "Couldn't you have waited until we're outside to get all annoyed about your name?"

"We just gotta get that metallic mesh off!" said Sakamoto-san, looking up at the vent Morgana-san had been referring to. It was a bit of an odd shape – the middle was like any other vent, if slightly bigger, but there were two smaller squares coming from the middle-top and middle-bottom. Sakamoto-san ran forward, climbed onto the bookcase the vent was above and grabbed onto the mesh. "And a one, and a—" He pulled and it came off without any resistance. He yelled out his surprise as he fell backwards and onto the floor. "Oww … Crap! The enemy didn't hear us, did they? Seriously, we're finally gettin' outta here …!"

"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out," Morgana-san advised. "Now, get going!"

"But … what about you?" asked Sakamoto-san with genuine concern in his voice.

That surprised me. He hadn't exactly shown much fondness for Morgana-san so far. Then again, I suppose stress makes people act differently to how they usually would.

"There's something that I still have to do," said Morgana-san. "We're going our separate ways."

"Don't get caught again," said Kurusu-san.

Morgana-san laughed a little. "You better be careful, too."

 _"_ _Thanks for the help,"_ I wrote out and showed Morgana-san.

He smiled up at me. "Don't mention it. See ya."

Sakamoto-san climbed up the bookcase and wasted no time in crawling through the vent. Kurusu-san went after him. I climbed up the bookcase, knelt down, and started to crawl my way through after. It was a bit cramped, but at least it wasn't a realistic vent, otherwise, we never would have fit through it. As I got to the exit, I saw something strange: at the end of the vent, there was nothing but blackness with weird red swirls in it. It made me nervous, but since Sakamoto-san and Kurusu-san had gone through it, I didn't have much of a choice.

I braced myself, crawled through …

… and suddenly I was standing on the pavement in the busy Tokyo streets.

Kurusu-san and Sakamoto-san were beside me. Sakamoto-san was bent over, breathing heavily.

 _What the fuck's going on?_ I thought for quite possibly the thousandth time that day.

"Did we make it …?" Sakamoto-san asked amidst breaths.

Kurusu-san got his phone out. {You have returned to the real world. Welcome back} a woman's voice from the phone said.

"Huh?" said Sakamoto-san. "Returned …? Does that mean we got away …?"

 _"_ _Judging by the many people around and the pretty normal-looking city, I'd say that's a safe bet,"_ I wrote.

"You're probably right," said Kurusu-san.

"I dunno what to think anymore …" said Sakamoto-san. "What was all that, anyways …? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat! The hell's goin' on!?"

"What's with all the yelling?" asked a nearby cop. He and his partner came over. "Are you students of Shujin? Cutting classes, are we?"

"Huh? No!" said Sakamoto-san. "We were tryin' to get to school, and we ended up at this weird castle!"

Even if I could talk, I wouldn't have done anything differently to what I did then: I facepalmed. _Yeah, you go, Sakamoto-san, make us sound like fucking lunatics!_

The cop sighed. "… What?"

"Hand over your bag," said the other cop. "You better not be doing any drugs."

"Why would you think that!?" asked Sakamoto-san.

 _It's truly a mystery,_ I thought. _One for the ages. We'd best get Inspector Morse in._

"Are you his friends?" one of the cops asked us.

"Something like that," said Kurusu-san.

I nodded.

"Then you should go to school," said the cop. "Take him with you."

"Like I'm tryin' to say …!" said Sakamoto-san. "I don't know what's goin' on, either!"

"We passed by Shujin on our way here," said the other cop. "There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. If you spout any more nonsense, I'll contact your school. Is that what you want?"

Sakamoto-san looked at Kurusu-san. "C'mon, say something'!" he urged.

"Let's get going," said Kurusu-san.

"Uh, that's not what I meant …"

Kurusu-san turned around and started walking.

"W-Wait a sec!" He looked at me. "Is that guy for real?"

I shrugged, then started walking after Kurusu-san.

"Oh, come _on_!" Sakamoto-san exclaimed behind me. "… Fine, I'm goin'!"

* * *

When we reached the school, I couldn't help but stop and stare. We had come the same way we had gone when we had found the castle, yet … the school was here, completely normal.

"Is this for real …?" asked Sakamoto-san. "I'm sure we came the same way … Didn't we, Ochiai?"

I nodded and wrote, _"After all the shit we've been through today, Sakamoto-san, I think you can call me by my first name."_

"… Okay, Hiroyasu-san … Nah, I'm not sayin' that … Yasu?" I shrugged to say "whatever." Actually, it was kind of appropriate, considering I have a family member who goes by the same nickname. "Yasu-san, then. And you can go ahead and call me Ryuji. What's goin' on here …?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask _you_ ," said the man in the suit who came out of the school. I recognised him – he was the school counsellor. "We received a call from the police."

"That damn cop snitched on us after all!" Ryuji-san growled.

The counsellor looked between Ryuji-san and me and hummed. "It's rare to see either of you with other people at all, let alone together. Where were you roaming around until this time?"

I shrugged. I didn't care if it annoyed him or not – it's not like he could have made me fucking _speak_ , is it?

"Uh … a ca— a castle?" said Ryuji-san.

"So, neither of you have any intention of giving an honest answer?" said the counsellor.

"What's this about a 'castle'?" asked an unpleasant, _definitely_ unwelcome familiar voice. Kamoshida walked out from behind the counsellor and looked down on us with that damn condescending expression of his.

"Kamoshida!?" Ryuji-san gasped.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto," said Kamoshida. "Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

" _Shuddup_!" Ryuji-san snapped. " _It's your fault that—_ "

"How dare you speak that way to Mr Kamoshida!" the counsellor bellowed. "… There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"

"He's the one that provoked me!"

"Do you _really_ want to be expelled!? In any case, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me!"

"What!? This is bullshit!"

"Come now," Kamoshida said to the counsellor. "I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame."

The counsellor looked unsure. "Well, if you say so …" He looked back at us. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're extremely late."

"Fine …" Ryuji-san sighed.

"By the way …" said Kamoshida, "you're that new transfer student, correct? Akira Kurusu …"

Sakamoto-san walked off with the counsellor, but not before giving Kamoshida one of the dirtiest looks imaginable. I didn't need to go with him as I didn't exactly cause a lot of trouble – I saw the counselor once a month to discuss problems I might be having thanks to my lack of speech, but I'm sure the only trouble I was causing there was trouble for him personally because he didn't want to deal with me.

"I'd have thought you'd know better than to hang around with someone like him, Ochiai," Kamoshida said to me. "At the moment, people only avoid you. Do you really think making your reputation worse by hanging around with that troublemaker is a good idea?"

 _Fuck you,_ I thought. I just shrugged.

Kamoshida turned back to Kurusu-san. "… Have we met somewhere?" he asked.

"I saw a girl in your car," said Kurusu-san.

"That's right … I remember now. … Well, I'll overlook this just for today. It's your first time being late, too, Ochiai, so I'll let you off easy." His eyes narrowed dangerously on Kurusu-san. "I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"

"I understand."

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Ms Kawakami's tired of waiting." He gave Kurusu-san a wide smile. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life."

He went inside.

[Try not to pay attention to whatever anyone says] I signed to Kurusu-san. [If Kamoshida knows about what you did to get sent out here, he's probably already told anyone who'll listen. He likes doing that, causing trouble for people. I think it gives him a power boner or some shit because no one can do anything against him.]

"Why?" asked Kurusu-san.

[Because he's an Olympic medalist who's done more for the school sports teams in the few years he's been working here than anyone has in the school's entire history. So long as he continues to benefit the school, nobody will listen to any complaint against him. The fucker could probably get away with murder if he wanted. You want my advice, Kurusu-san?]

"Okay. And call me Akira."

[I'll do that. My advice to you, Akira-san, is simply to stay out of Kamoshida's way. I learned a while ago that it's pointless to go against him."

"… Maybe. Maybe not …"

A smile tugged at my lips. As much as I thought going up against Kamoshida was pointless, the fighting spirit Akira-san was showing was certainly something that got the spirits up.

[Come on. We should go to the faculty room.]

"You, too?"

[You're in Kawakami-sensei's class, yes?] He nodded. [Then we're in the same class. She'll want to know why I'm so late, too.]

"Okay, then. Let's go."

We walked in. The hallways were bustling with life because it was already lunchtime – we had missed the vast majority of the school day. We changed footwear at the shoe lockers at the school entrance, then took a left when we went into the hallway proper and walked forward until we were at the stairs, which we walked up. It was as we emerged at the top that I started to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"So that's him?" a girl nearby asked her friend. "That's the guy with the criminal record?"

"I think so," her friend said. "What's the 'silent spook' doing with him? Think they know each other?"

"I hope not. If they teamed up, I'd never feel safe."

I felt Akira-san glance at me for a second before we just kept on walking.

We entered the faculty office when we reached it. Kawakami-sensei didn't look particularly happy as she sat at her desk in there. She was a woman in her mid-twenties (I've always assumed, anyway) of around average height and with a slender body. Her hair was dark brown and unkempt, coming to just above her shoulders, and her eyes matched the dark brown of her hair. Her expression was somewhat long and sleepy, as it normally was, but she looked even less energised than usual. She wore a yellow long-sleeved shirt that was striped with red and white horizontal lines, a blue denim skirt that hung to below her knees, and white kitten-heel shoes.

She looked up as we walked in and sighed. "Unbelievable …" she said. "Being over half a day late on your first day …? I just assumed you were sick, Ochiai, but really? Can you two explain yourselves?"

"We were in a castle," Akira-san said like it was no big thing.

I released a long, drawn-out breath through my nose.

"You can't be serious …" said Kawakami-sensei. "Will you pull yourself together? You were given fair warning yesterday. More importantly … I heard that you two were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun?"

[Word travels fast, apparently] I signed at Akira-san.

"Indeed it does," he said.

Kawakami-sensei blinked. "You understand sign language?" she asked Akira-san.

"Yes."

"Huh … well, I guess that explains why you two are hanging out. But I really didn't expect you to be getting involved with Sakamoto-kun, Ochiai-kun. You really shouldn't, okay? He's nothing but trouble. He wasn't like that when he was devoting his time to track and field, though … Anyway. Break's almost over. Classes will end after fifth period today because of the subway accident." She looked specifically at Akira-san. "I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes." She looked at me. "You go on ahead, I'll come in with him."

I nodded and left the faculty office.

The bell rang as I was moving through the hallway. I joined the crowd in going toward my classroom. Everyone gave me as wide a berth as they could manage, as usual. I was used to that by now.

When I got into the classroom, I took my seat, which was just one away from the window and two away from the back. I sat down, opened up my bag, and took out my sketchbook. Drawing was a little hobby of mine, though not one I'd ever shown anyone – everyone in class knew, obviously, since I was often whispered about and stared at and I normally drew when I didn't have anything else to be doing.

Without even really thinking about it, I opened up a blank page in my sketchbook and started drawing. I started doing carefully sketched outlines of a round shape with two sharp points coming off the top …

Before I could get into it, someone stood in front of my desk.

"Hey, Ochiai," said Yuuki Mishima. He was a shorter guy with spiky, blue-tinted black hair. He wore no blazer and had his shirt untucked. "You're never late, especially not this late. What's up?"

 _"_ _I've had a really weird day,"_ I wrote.

"Weird how?"

 _"_ _I spent most of it thinking I've lost my mind weird."_

"Huh … Well, good to see you're fine."

 _"_ _Thanks."_

"Don't mention it." He walked over to his own seat.

Mishima was an all right guy, I suppose. We weren't exactly friends, but he didn't avoid or ignore me like pretty much everyone else did, which certainly set him apart. We still didn't hang out, though – our interactions were kept strictly to little chats in the classroom. The main reason was that he was one of Kamoshida's little abused puppies; he couldn't get out of practice without a guarantee of physical injury (not that different from _going_ to practice, in my opinion, but oh well) and I generally didn't hang out with people, anyway.

The seat next to me and just beside the window was soon filled. That was Takamaki-san.

The classroom door opened and Kawakami-sensei walked in with Akira-san.

"Being super late on his first day?" one guy whispered. "He really is insane …"

"He looks normal, though …" said a girl.

"But he might slug us if we look him in the eye …" another guy said.

"Settle down," said Kawakami-sensei. Everyone shut up. I put my sketchbook back in my bag. "… Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Akira Kurusu. Today, we … had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well. All right, please say something to the class."

"Nice to meet you," said Akira-san.

"He seems quiet … but I bet when he loses it …" said a girl.

"I mean, he was arrested for assault, right …?" said another girl.

"… Uhh, so …" said Kawakami-sensei. "Your seat will be … Hmm … Over there. The one that's open."

 _Wow, that must have been_ such _a hard decision,_ I thought with an eye-roll.

"Sorry, but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with him for today?" asked Kawakami-sensei.

"This sucks …" a girl said.

Akira-san started walking around the desks and set himself on a course for the seat in the row behind mine that was just next to the window. _I guess he's the animé protagonist of the class,_ I thought with a small, amused smile. As he moved to pass Takamaki-san and me, he was drawn to a stop when Takamaki-san practically hissed something under her breath.

"… _Lies_."

Akira-san stopped in surprised, and I turned my gaze to the left to see just what the hell was happening. Takamaki-san had never seemed a particularly happy person, but I had never heard so much aggression from her before.

"You're that girl …" said Akira-san.

Takamaki-san breathed out and looked away.

Akira-san looked at me and smiled. "Hey, Hiro-san," he said.

[Good to see she didn't rip your head off] I signed.

He chuckled. "Yeah, no kidding." Then he started walking to his seat.

"Wait, you can understand Ochiai's weird hand movements!?" some guy asked from the back of the class.

 _I think you'll find it's called sign language, you silly twat,_ I thought. But what I did was give him an introduction to the same piece of universally known sign language I had shown "King Kamoshida" earlier.

"All right, that's enough!" Kawakami-sensei said firmly. "Now, as I'm sure you all know, the volleyball rally is in two days. Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well, then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?"

Mishima stood up. "Everyone, please rise …"

As we all stood up, I noticed Takamaki-san eyeing me strangely. I raised my hands and held them apart in a "What?" gesture. She just shook her head and looked away.

This already weird day just kept getting weirder.

* * *

At the end of the day, I left the classroom with Akira-san. Normally, I would have gone somewhere in town to just be by myself for a little while, maybe get some drawing done, but after this bizarre day, I was just planning on walking home and spending the remaining hours of the day in my bedroom. I'd probably still draw, though.

As we left the classroom, Akira-san stopped suddenly and placed a hand on his forehead.

Kawakami-sensei came out of the classroom at this moment. "Hm?" she said. "What's wrong?"

"Is this … a castle?" Akira-san asked.

Kawakami-sensei sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? Also … it seems like people are already talking about you, but I'm not the one who told them. I can't even catch a break … Why do I have to deal with this?" She looked back at Akira-san. "You should head straight home without stopping by anywhere. Sakura-san sounded pretty angry. Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Don't get involved—"

 _Speak of the Devil,_ I thought as Ryuji-san approached.

"Speak of the Devil …" Kawakami-sensei said at the same time.

 _Ha!_

"What do you want?" Kawakami-sensei asked Ryuji-san. "I heard the police caught you cutting classes today."

Ryuji-san groaned. "It was nothin'," he said.

"And you haven't dyed your hair back to black, either …"

"Sorry 'bout that." He didn't sound like he cared at all. He moved closer to Akira-san and me. "I'll be waitin' on the rooftop," he whispered. Then he walked away.

Kawakami-sensei sighed again. "See? That's why I don't want you getting involved. Understood?"

Then she walked up.

Then, as if God himself decided he wanted to fuck with us that day, Kamoshida and the principal came up the stairs beside us together.

"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer here?" Kamoshida asked the principal. "He's already started associating with Sakamoto and Ochiai. A student with a criminal record, and the culprit of an assault case."

 _Excuse me, Mr Pot, Mr Kettle called and said you're black._

"At this rate," Kamoshida continued, "it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school."

"Now, don't be like that …" said our fat bald bastard of a principal. "This school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star. Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well."

"Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa? All right, I understand. I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me."

The two of them walked away.

[And there go the two biggest douchebags I've ever met] I signed to Akira-san. [So, you been seeing that castle?]

"Just a flash of it, yeah," said Akira-san. "It gave me a headache. Sakamoto seemed like he was eager to talk about something. You mind leading the way to the roof?"

[Okay.]

* * *

Despite the fact that the roof was meant to be off-limits, I went up there often. Pretty much every lunchtime, in fact, or else I would head up there if I ever wanted to cut class (normally PE).

"… There you guys are," said Ryuji-san when we arrived. "Sorry for callin' you up here like this. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'Don't get involved with him,' huh?"

"Who'd you know?" asked Akira-san.

"Figured as much. Then again, we're all in the same boat, more or less. I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it. No wonder you were so gutsy." He paused. "… What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at a castle … It wasn't a dream … right? You guys remember it, too, yeah?"

I nodded.

"Yeah," said Akira-san.

"Well, just 'cause we all remember it doesn't mean much, though …" said Ryuji-san. "I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah … Thanks, Akira."

"You're welcome," said Akira-san.

"But man, that Kamoshida we saw there … You prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumours about him."

"Hiro-san told me a thing or two earlier."

"He tell you why nobody does shit against him?" Akira-san nodded in response. "Well, it's true – the shithead took the volleyball team to the nationals, so now he's the pride of the school or some shit. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that … I wonder if we can go back to that castle again … Ugh, forget it. Must've all been a dream! It has to be!"

 _"_ _I dunno. That little scrape on my ankle feels pretty fucking real,"_ I wrote.

"Then you just slipped or something, I dunno!" said Ryuji-san. "Sorry to drag you two out here like this. That's all I had to say. You know, we might actually be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers.' I'm Sakamoto Ryuji. Though of course, Yasu-san already knew that. I'll come talk if I see you guys around. Don't ignore me, all right?"

I smiled at him.

"See ya," he said before walking off.

I decided that I liked Ryuji-san.

"Well, I guess we should head home for the day," said Akira-san. "I don't want Sakura-san to kick me out on my ass."

[You want to walk with me?] I asked. [The train station is about halfway to my place, so I can stick with you that far.]

"Sure. Thanks."

We left school together.

* * *

True to what I'd thought about doing earlier, I went straight home. I took my bag off, hung it up in the cupboard, and went upstairs, where I undressed, put on my pyjamas, and lay on my bed.

I had my sketchbook with me.

The excitement of the day stayed with me well into the night. I had been drawing for hours by the time I actually got tired enough to sleep.

And even then, my dreams were filled with nightmares of that castle …

* * *

 **FUCKING-A! I did it! I've been working on this for a few days now, very nearly thought I'd never get it done, but I've finished the first chapter!**

 **There's not really much I can think to say down here, I'm afraid, so this'll be a short AN. There is the fact that I've put some effort into the Japanese side of things this time around, but I'm trying to edit up _Supernatural Serial Killers ... Why Not?_ to be more accurate in that regard, too.**

 **Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next time.**


	2. Tuesday, 12 April 2016

**Welcome to chapter two, Constant Readers!**

 **I'd like to take a moment to thank ShadowUzumaki55 for giving me some ideas and for helping me finalise the pairings for this story. They are as follows: Hiroyasu/Ann, Akira/Haru, Ryuji/Makoto, and Yusuke/Futaba. They may seem a tad weird to some people, but I think I can make them work. I kinda like going for more bizarre pairings every now and then.**

 **I wish to give you fair warning that the Persona Hiroyasu has been given doesn't fit in with the others. To tell you the truth, my original plan was to have his Persona be Quasimodo from _Notre Dame de Paris_ (more commonly known as _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ ), but after a conversation with Theboblinator, he made a really good case for the Persona I ended up using. If it's a little too … "out there" for you, then fine, feel free to leave. Otherwise, just try to have fun. If you need a reason for it … fanfiction. XD**

"Persona!" – Normal Speech

 _Persona!_ – Thoughts

 _"Persona!"_ – Writing

[Persona!] – Sign Language

{Persona!} – Phone Speak

 **"Persona!"** – Shadows

 _ **"Persona!"**_ – Berserk Shadows/Personas

 **Let's begin.**

* * *

Tuesday, 12 April 2016

I did eventually get to sleep on the Monday night, but not before I had done a few drawings. It was therapeutic, in a way, getting some of those things I'd seen on paper in a visual format. My brain just wouldn't stop focusing on the whole mess until I had the drawings done.

My morning went very much like the morning of the day before. I ran into neither of my parents because Otou-sama had a business trip and Okaa-sama was in the living room. She didn't acknowledge my presence, as per usual, so I didn't acknowledge hers. I just made some toast, filled my Thermos with some tea, and went on my way. The big difference was that I noticed that it was raining this time and grabbed an umbrella before I went out.

From there, it was business as usual. People from school blanked me or gave me dirty looks, and I just walked on without giving a fuck.

Once again, I bumped into Akira-san as he was leaving the train station. It was amazing that despite how crowded the trains get, plus the seriousness of the subway accident a couple of days before, that the trains were still so perfectly on time. Give them points for organisation.

"Hey, Hiro-san," Akira-san greeted me.

I gave him a little wave and we started walking together.

We hadn't gotten far when the rumour mill that made up 99% of the student body's knowledge got Akira-san's attention enough for him to stop in his tracks. I stopped with him, though since it was a pair of gossiping girls, I knew it could only be one of two people they were talking about.

"I feel so down when it's raining," said a melancholy-sounding girl. "I guess we're playing volleyball in the gym for PE today."

"I'm not looking forward to that," said her much louder friend. "Why'd I have to be on the same team as Takamaki? She's only a magazine model because of her stupid ridiculous body. Being near her disgusts me."

"Yeah, but we can't just ignore her, either, because of what happened with Kamoshida-sensei."

"Dealing with her is such a hassle. I wish she'd just not come to school."

I tapped Akira-san on the shoulder and nodded my head in the direction of the school to indicate that we should get walking. [You know, if you're going to eavesdrop on people, it's generally not a good idea to stand still right next to them and make no effort to hide yourself. Especially given the crappy reputation you've already got. It'd be like me, Ryuji-san, or even Takamaki-san doing it – people would be even more likely to notice,] I signed.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Akira-san. "Speaking of reputations, I heard you being called the 'silent spook' a few times yesterday. You mind telling me what that's about?"

I thought for a few moments before signing. [Kamoshida started spreading shit about me awhile back. It was before I lost my voice, but I wasn't exactly talkative even back then. I don't really have much to do with my time other than school, never have, so I decided to try joining one of the sports teams to do something with my spare time. Volleyball, it was. I saw how Kamoshida used the others as punching bags and snapped at him for it on my very first day. I'll admit that I have a bit of a temper, though it only used to make me shout. Needless to say, I was cut from the team, but Kamoshida didn't stop there. He started telling people I was quiet because I liked sneaking around. Specifically, he said I liked sneaking around in the girls' locker room when they were getting changed. Suddenly I was the 'ghost of the girls' locker room.' 'Silent spook' came later, after I had the,] I hesitated, [accident that lost me my voice.]

"… I'm sorry."

I shrugged to make it look like I wasn't bothered.

I was grateful for something, though. Akira-san said he was sorry but there was no pitying look on his face or tone in his voice. Maybe it was his own circumstances that did it, the fact that we were both guys the world had been shit to. Either way, it made me happy.

As we turned the corner and went through the school gate, I half-expected the castle to be there again. But it wasn't.

* * *

The school day was dull, as usual. People continued to mutter about the two "good for nothing delinquents" and the "mute pervert." Some were spoken about Takamaki-san, but I didn't really pay attention to that, it wasn't any of my business. I still thought it was stupid, though – the girls were jealous of her looks and the guys thought her being that hot made her "easy." It was all just so backwards.

Speaking of Takamaki-san, she left the classroom mere moments before Akira-san and me. We got outside just in time to see Kamoshida walk up to her.

"Hey there, Takamaki," he said to her with that shit-eating grin of his. "You looking for a ride home? Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents."

"Sorry, I have a photo shoot today," said Takamaki-san. "It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it …"

"Hey, now … Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"

"Yes. I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy … Sorry to worry you."

"You must be lonely, too. I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often. That's why I asked you out in the first place. Oh, and … be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you …"

"… Thank you. Please excuse me."

She left.

Kamoshida's smile vanished the second the walked away. An irritated scowl took its place on his face. "Tch," he spat before walking away.

 _That will never get any less uncomfortable to watch,_ I thought. Kamoshida was a complete dickhead at the best of times, but watching him act like that with Takamaki-san sent an actual chill down my spine. It may have been the perversion – it also may have been the simple thought of Kamoshida procreating.

Whichever it was, it had no baring on the course Akira-san and I took. We walked out of the building and were just about through the gates when a "Yo" got our attention.

It was Ryuji-san.

I offered a little wave of greeting.

"What's up?" Akira-san asked him.

"I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday," said Ryuji-san.

 _"The one you decided was all a dream?"_ I wrote.

"Oh, ha-ha, laugh it up," he said sarcastically. "I kept tryin' to tell myself it was all a dream … but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all. I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And y'know, you two're the only people I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"

I thought about it. I thought about that castle and those weird demonic Shadow things. I thought about "King" Kamoshida and how eerily like regular Kamoshida he was. I thought about all those people in the cells. I thought about Morgana-san, still in there (even though he was no longer trapped). I thought about that whole damn mess from yesterday …

… and I thought about the possibility of absolutely _sticking it_ to that prick of a PE teacher.

 _"I am SO fucking in!"_ I wrote.

"Sure," said Akira-san. "What next?"

"Ooh …" said Ryuji-san. "Looks like I managed to talk some sense into you."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"I think we should try and retrace our steps from yesterday," he continued. "In the meantime, you're walkin' to the station, right?"

I shook my head.

"Oh …"

"He does have to walk past it, though," Akira-san said before I had to write anything down. "I'm the one who has to take the train."

"Let's all go together, then," said Ryuji-san. "Lemme know if you notice any other weird buildings on the way."

We all started walking together.

It felt … _odd_ to be part of a group, even one as small as this. But I would be lying if I said I hated it. It was just a new experience. I've always been kind of a loner, but that was mostly because the people at school were pretty much all idiots – they took rumours as facts immediately after hearing them and never questioned anything. Akira-san and Ryuji-san were different, though. They didn't believe the bullshit because, like me, they were on the receiving end of such bullshit.

"If a huge castle like that really exists," said Ryuji-san, "I'm sure we'll find it in no time. … When'd they build something like that, though?"

We stopped beside the alleyway we'd walked down the day before.

"We walked that way from here, right?" asked Ryuji-san.

I nodded.

"Maybe," said Akira-san.

"When you put it that way, I'm not so sure anymore …" said Ryuji-san. "… All right, this way. Lemme know if you notice something."

We walked down the alleyway, turned the corner, and … found ourselves back at Shujin Academy.

"Huh …?" said Ryuji-san. "We're at the school …"

 _No shit, Sherlock._

"There wasn't anything out of place along the way, right? I didn't see no castle, either … We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Let's try again."

"I want to go home," Akira-san sighed.

I half-agreed with the sentiment. We had taken exactly the same route as we had the day before and found the school exactly the way it should be. It was starting to seem like the castle really didn't exist … but there was part of me that denied that possibility entirely. It had all felt far too real for that to be true. We were missing something, I just didn't know what …

"C'mon," said Ryuji-san, "you gotta stick with me to the end. Let's go."

* * *

"For real …?" Ryuji-san said in disappointment when we ended up at the school again. He leaned against a wall and sighed. "Is it smaller than we think it is? What do you guys think?"

I shrugged. It was just as confusing to me.

"Check your phones," Akira-san said suddenly. His voice was much more enthusiastic than it was before.

"I already did that," said Ryuji-san. "I didn't see anything like it around here …"

I didn't argue. I took my phone out and turned it on. There was nothing different about it. I started to put it away when Ryuji-san spoke again, this time with a note of realisation in his voice.

"Huh? Phone … Hey, that reminds me – didn't you have a navigation app thingy on, back then?"

"Navigation app?" asked Akira-san.

I felt my eyes widen as I remembered the words that had come from Akira-san's phone after we escaped the castle. Tapping Akira-san on the shoulder hyperactively, I signed, [Your phone said something about returning to the 'real world' after we escaped that castle!]

"Yeah, yeah, that was it!" Ryuji-san said excitedly. "Lemme see your phone for a bit."

Akira-san handed Ryuji-san his phone.

Ryuji-san tapped around for a few seconds. "What's this eyeball-lookin' thing?" he asked.

"Cute logo, huh?" said Akira-san with a bit of humour in his tone.

"That's not how I'd describe it …" said Ryuji-san. "What a weird app … Oh, wait, this is it!" He turned the phone to face us – the symbol for the app was pretty much all black with a crimson red eyeball. "I _knew_ it – it _is_ a navigation app! There's even your search history! Oh, man, I'm such a genius!"

 _Well, Akira-san is the one who suggested checking the phone,_ I thought. _I'm not so sure following a suggestion counts as an act of genius._

"Let's try usin' it."

"I dunno about this," said Akira-san.

"Why?" asked Ryuji-san. "All we're doin' is startin' an app." He pressed the button.

The robotic woman's voice came from the phone again. {Kamoshida … Shujin Academy … Pervert … Castle … Beginning navigation.}

"There we go!" Ryuji-san cheered. "… Then, we went in a certain direction, and—"

A strange buzzing noise filled the air for a moment. I noticed the air seemed to _ripple_ around us.

"Hey, what're you—" Ryuji-san cut himself off. "Huh? What the hell?"

I echoed the thought as the ripples in the air increased in number and then turned black and red. The world around us looked like it was warping itself, reshaping. The ripples eventually faded and I noticed the sky was black and red in colour … and where the school once was, the castle now stood as it had yesterday.

 _Holy shit!_ I thought. _So … fucking hell, we_ actually _travelled to another fucking WORLD!?_

"Look!" exclaimed Ryuji-san. "It's the castle from yesterday!"

 _I'm mute, not blind, I can_ see _it._

We ran into the castle grounds and toward the door we went in through yesterday. It was still closed like it was when we were trying to escape last time.

"We made it back …" said Ryuji-san. "That means what happened yesterday was for real, too …"

 _Looks like it,_ I thought, nodding with a relieved half-smile on my face. As much as I would have _loved_ for all this shit to have been in my head, the fact that I was just proven sane was very comforting.

Ryuji-san released a startled yell. "Those clothes …!"

I looked directly at Akira-san for the first time since we'd re-entered this place. Those weird clothes were on him again in place of his school uniform, and they didn't appear to be fluctuating on and off this time, either. Considering the only way we had of defending ourselves was that Persona thing of his, which was only available if he had that mask to rip off, I chose to take this as a good sign.

"That happened last time, too, huh!?" said Ryuji-san. "What's with that outfit!?"

"You jelly?" asked Akira-san.

"I-I ain't jealous!" Ryuji-san denied.

[I kind of am,] I signed in admittance. [That look is pretty awesome.]

Akira-san grinned.

"What's goin' on here!?" Ryuji-san exclaimed. "This makes no fuckin' sense at all …"

"Hey!" said a familiar voice. Morgana-san was peaking at us from behind one of the walls. He came over to us, looking annoyed. "Stop making a commotion."

"Ah … You!?" said Ryuji-san.

"The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be …" said Morgana-san. "… To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape."

"What is this place? … Is it the school?"

"That's right."

 _Time the fuck out,_ I thought, then started writing. _"How can this be the school? From what I can tell, we're in a completely separate world from ours."_

"Well, at least I don't have to explain _that_ to you," said Morgana-san. "This castle is the school, but only to the castle's ruler."

 _I'm sorry I asked,_ I thought, starting to get something of a headache.

"The castle's ruler …?" said Ryuji-san.

"I think you called him Kamoshida?" said Morgana-san. "It's how his distorted heart views the school."

That was a much more concrete explanation which made a lot more sense to me. _"So what, we're in his head?"_ I asked.

"… In a way, I guess. But only the part of it that pertains to the school."

Ryuji-san groaned. "Explain it in a way that makes sense!" he demanded.

Morgana-san sighed. "I really shouldn't have expected the moron to get it …"

"What'd you say!?"

" _UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ "

That had to be one _hell_ of a loud scream considering just how far in we'd been when we saw the prisoners the day before.

"What was that!?" Ryuji-san asked frantically.

"It must be the slaves captive here," said Morgana-san.

"For real!?"

" _IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ "

"Oh, shit …" Ryuji-san summed up my thoughts perfectly. "It's for real! We saw other guys held captive here yesterday … I'm pretty sure they're from our school."

"Most likely on Kamoshida's orders," said Morgana-san. "It's nothing out of the ordinary: it's like that every day here. What's more, you three escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit."

"That son of a bitch …!" Ryuji-san growled.

My fists tightened at my side and I gritted my teeth. _There goes that sack of shit, lording over everyone again because he can. He thinks we're all just his fucking playthings, his fucking TOYS! If only I could speak, I think I'd have a few choice words for that son of a bitch …!_

"Ryuji …? Hiroyasu …?" Morgana-san said in concern.

"… This is bullshit!" Ryuji-san yelled. He ran over to the entrance doors of the castle and shoulder barged it. " _You hear me, Kamoshida_!?"

"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know … Still, it seems you have your reasons."

Ryuji-san turned back around. "Hey, Monamona!"

"It's _Morgana_!"

"Do you know where those voices are comin' from …?"

"You want me to take you to them? … Well, I guess I could guide you there." Morgana-san looked at Akira-san. "But only if he comes with us."

"Why me?" Akira-san asked curiously.

"I just want to get a better look at your powers."

[Plus, you're the only one out of all of us other than Morgana-san who can fight these Shadow things,] I signed.

"Even if you don't agree," said Morgana-san, "I bet these guys'll go on even if they have to do it alone. Are you gonna leave them?"

"I never said that," said Akira-san. "I was just curious, is all."

"It's settled, then!"

"For real …!?" Ryuji-san asked in excitement. "Thanks, man." He looked at me. "You comin'?"

I nodded once. I wanted to make Kamoshida pay for all of this.

"All right, let's do this," said Morgana-san. "Follow me!" He walked to the left of where the door was, and we followed. He stopped after a short while next to the weirdly-shaped vent in the wall that we'd used to escape yesterday. "This is our infiltration point."

"Ain't that where we escaped outta last time …?" asked Ryuji-san.

"That's right," said Morgana-san. "Not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery."

"How're we supposed to know about that stuff …?"

It seemed pretty logical to me. Especially considering the fact that we'd gone in through the front door yesterday and been caught pretty much immediately.

"I'll make sure to teach you as we go," said Morgana-san. "Come on, follow me!" He jumped up into the vent and started to walk through.

"So, uh …" said Ryuji-san, "… sorry for draggin' you two into all of this … But I just can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants! Really, though, thanks for comin' along. I owe you both big time!"

I wrote him a little something. _"You don't owe me anything. I want to bring that bastard down just as much as you do. He's been the ruler of this messed up little 'kingdom' for way too long. This isn't just for us – it's for EVERYONE who's ever suffered because of him."_

Ryuji-san read it and smiled at me. "Glad to know we're on the same page," he said.

Then I added: _"That being said, if I die and you don't, I am HAUNTING your ass."_

Ryuji-san laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Come on," said Akira-san. "Morgana-san's probably getting tired of waiting."

Climbing into the vent this time took a lot of boosting and lifting because of how high it was. Ryuji-san boosted Akira-san up by letting him step into his hands, then Akira-san gave Ryuji-san a lift up. Ryuji-san gave me a lift up, too, but I had to jump a bit because I wasn't as tall … Okay, that's a complete lie. I just spend so much time hunching over to avoid being visible that standing up straight is really uncomfortable. I think my bones are just used to it now, to be honest.

Jumping down from the bookcase when I got inside wasn't as big an issue. My ankle smarted a bit, but it didn't go any further than that.

"Man, this place is as creepy as always," said Ryuji-san.

"Mm-hm," said Morgana-san. "Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, all right?" He ran a little way out of the room. "… Follow me!" He ran off to the right, toward the entrance hall.

We followed him. Akira-san ran first, and Ryuji-san and I followed behind him. We knew enough after yesterday to know that we had a better chance of survival if we let Akira-san go first.

We got inside the entrance hall and stood in the centre of the circular red carpet.

"Hey …" said Ryuji-san. "We went by here when we came in the front …"

 _Maybe it seems pointless at the moment, but imagine if we'd used the front door and they'd all been standing here._ I was about to give voice – so to speak – to this thought when I suddenly found I was looking around the locker-filled entrance of Shujin Academy. The change was so sudden, it sent me reeling for a few seconds. Then the school went away and we were in the castle again. If my vocal chords were still working, I'm sure a little yell of surprise would have torn through. As it was, however, all I produced was a little wheeze of air that may have passed for a weak gasp.

"What the …!?"

Ryuji-san seemed to be having the same reaction, albeit vocal.

"I was seein' double or somethin' just now …! Was that Shujin!?"

"I've told you before," Morgana-san said to him. "This place is your school. Regardless, we don't have the time to stand around. Who knows when a Shadow might show up? Come on, this way!"

Two days in, and I was already getting used to chasing a vaguely anthropomorphic cat around …

I said a brief farewell to my mental health.

We ran down the imposingly dark-bricked spiral staircase that we had run _up_ the day before when we'd been escaping the dungeon. Now we were going back _into_ the dungeon. A part of me – a cowardly part, born from the days when my rebellious side had been forced into a coma, that I have never stopped being ashamed of – did not want to go back down there, was telling me I should run back to the real world, that my lack of communication ability would make me little more than dead weight and that Akira-san, Ryuji-san, and Morgana-san would not miss me, nor even notice that I was gone.

I pushed that side of me down as best I could, and briefly felt something else stir but a little.

We were forced to duck around the corner when we came to the first gate, as a guard was pacing around on the other side of it. My ankle ached a bit as I crouched down on it.

"Darn … I had a feeling there would be guards here …" said Morgana-san. He looked between us three humans with what I gathered was a serious expression (it was hard to tell, really, what with him being a cat and all). "It looks like we won't be able to avoid conflict from this point forward."

"F-For real …?" asked Ryuji-san.

 _I doubt he's making it up for shits and giggles,_ I thought, but kept that one to myself.

"Oh well," Morgana-san said in a tone that should have come with a shrug. "I'll just teach you the basics of battle right now. You had better remember all of this. As a rule of thumb, try to ambush as many enemies as you can. Attack them from behind whenever possible. You'll need to rip off their masks to momentarily break the control the Palace ruler has over them. If you succeed, the enemy will be caught off guard, allowing us to jump in for a pre-emptive attack."

"So we wanna ambush 'em and go for the first strike …" said Ryuji-san. "All right, I got it!"

I tapped him twice on the shoulder and gave him a look. _Easy there, cowboy,_ I hoped it would convey. I did not think it was wise for he or I to be getting involved with the fighting at this stage since we had no real way of defending ourselves.

"I think what Hiroyasu is getting at is that you two won't be fighting," said Morgana-san. "You'll be _watching_. You guys can't use Personas." He turned his attention to Akira-san. "Anyway, let's go!"

Akira-san darted out from behind our cover, followed closely by Morgana-san. I wanted to see this, so I stuck my head around the corner, as did Ryuji-san. Akira-san leapt onto the Shadow's back as if it were nothing, like he was trying out a bull at a rodeo. With a grace I did not expect to see from him, he flipped over the Shadow's body, reaching out an arm and ripping the blue mask from the guard's face in his descent. The guard fell over and melted away into a black sludge, which then moulded into a new shape. This guard became a single Crypt-Dwelling Pyromaniac.

Akira-san ripped his mask off – easier for him now, but it still looked fucking painful – and yelled, " _Cleave_!" His mask turned into Arsene, who slashed his wings at the Shadow.

Morgana-san summoned Zorro and shouted, " _Garu_!" The circle of wind that formed around the Shadow rendered it nothing.

As Ryuji-san and I walked over, I noticed something glistening on the ground. Curious, I knelt down. It was money. I took it in one hand and counted it out. ¥149.

I blinked down at the money in my hand. _Wait … the Shadows drop money?_ I asked myself. It was the only explanation I could think of; otherwise, why would this have turned up directly beneath where the Shadow had just been? _But if they drop money, that means … Holy shit, this place is a potential_ goldmine _! Imagine all the money you could make from "farming" these freaky things!_

If this were animated, I imagine I would have had the ¥ symbol in place of my eyes.

It did not take me long to catch up with the others. We ran across the bridge on the left and came upon the wide staircase that would lead us further downward.

"Why ain't anyone here …?" asked Ryuji-san. He was looking in one of the nearby prison cells. He turned back toward us, his expression nearly thunderous. "Damn it, they were here before! Where'd they go!?"

"Quiet down!" Morgana-san snapped at him.

"Oh yeah, there were more of 'em further in, too …!" He started running ahead.

Morgana-san, clearly exasperated, turned to Akira-san and myself and started talking. "They might have been transferred already …"

Then Ryuji-san ran back toward us, limping a little on one leg. "Crap, I can hear footsteps comin'! Lots of 'em!"

"It would be a problem if they discovered us now …" Morgana-san muttered. He looked around for a moment, then gestured toward a wooden door. "Hey, let's head into that room. We should be able to hide in there until they leave."

We went in.

The room was rather small. There was a single chandelier-esque round metal thing (I have never known what those are called) hanging from the ceiling with a brightly-burning fire in the centre, allowing us to see the room in a flickering yellow-orange hue. There was very little in the way of furniture: two bookcases, a bench, and four smaller benches surrounding a small wooden table.

Morgana-san jumped up onto the table. "The Shadows probably won't come in here," he said.

Ryuji-san struggled to speak as he panted. "How can you tell?"

No one spoke when I started writing. The silence lasted until I showed Ryuji-san what I wanted to say. _"Honestly, at this point, why even ask? He knows a hell of a lot more about this place than we do and hasn't been wrong so far, so we should probably just run with it."_

"… Point," said Ryuji-san.

"If you must know, there's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak," Morgana-san explained, anyway.

As if to demonstrate the point, the dark bricks of the room faded around us, and I found myself looking at the chalkboard surrounded by white walls with a podium in front of it that was a Shujin Academy classroom. It faded away again just as quickly.

"Is this a classroom …?" asked Ryuji-san.

"Now do you understand?" Morgana-san asked us. "This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects."

"This is Kamoshida's reality …? Shit makes no sense at all!"

I sighed – breathing heavily enough could allow me to do that, at least – and tried not to think too harshly of Ryuji-san's intelligence despite the fact that this had already been explained to us. I was wondering what part of this was so difficult to grasp. Most people with a grasp on pop culture these days were familiar with the concept of a mindscape even if not by name, and this did not seem to be very different. I suppose Ryuji-san was lucky I could not speak …

"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialised," said Morgana-san. "I call such a place a 'Palace.'"

"A Palace …?" said Ryuji-san.

"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle."

"So, it became like this 'cause he just thought of it like that!? Hahaha …"

I'm unashamed to say that his sudden laugh unnerved me. But I could understand why, even if his lack of ability to pay attention irritated me. Though I suppose my condition left me more inclined to listen to others than most, since listening was the vast majority of what I could do. Thinking about it like that, my irritation softened and I even began to feel ashamed of myself. I really did lack people skills.

 _Although,_ I thought, _that might be because most of the people around here are dickheads._

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji-san shouted.

"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy," Morgana-san commented.

 _You don't know the half of it,_ I thought, but did not get a chance to say that one before Ryuji-san said, in a very similar vein of thought, "Hate doesn't even _cover_ how I feel."

" _Everything_ is that asshole's fault!" he declared.

I wished I had few enough problems that I could pin them all on Kamoshida.

"I don't know what happened between you two," said Morgana-san, "but don't let your emotions get the better of you. His lackeys are everywhere inside." He perked up and addressed Akira-san, who had been standing quietly. In some ways, I noticed, he was even quieter than I was, which was quite an accomplishment. "You're curious about your outfit, aren't you?"

"'Curious' is certainly the milder word for it, yes," said Akira-san.

"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it, too," said Ryuji-san.

I nodded my own affirmation.

"That's also because of this world," Morgana-san explained.

"More stuff that makes no sense …" Ryuji-san complained under his breath.

 _Might wanna let him get to explaining it first,_ I thought.

Morgana-san went on without acknowledging Ryuji-san's complaints. "Anything distorts to how a ruler pleases within his Palace. A school can turn into a castle like this, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance is a manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion that you hold within."

"Uuugh, I'm so fed up with all this!" Ryuji-san growled. "I'm more curious about _you_ than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways!?"

"I'm a human – an honest-to-God human!"

Even I was rather sceptical about that little piece of information.

"No, you're obviously more like a cat!"

"This is, well … It's because I lost my true form. … I think."

"You think?"

"But I do know how to regain my true form. The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means. Well, I ended up getting caught, though … Besides, I've been tortured by Kamoshida, too! I'm gonna make him pay for sure!"

 _Finally, something everyone can agree on._ I punctuated the thought by letting loose a little burst of clapping. Not for the first time, I felt a warmth in my cheeks from the childish gesture. Communicating like that, while practical for swiftness purposes, was always rather embarrassing for me.

"What is this, a comic book?" asked Ryuji-san. "This is seriously crazy …"

"If we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along," said Morgana-san. "I'll be counting on your skills this time, too, rookie. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it," said Akira-san.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you," said Ryuji-san. "I thought it might help, so …" He reached behind him and pulled a gun out of his pocket. "I brought this just in case! It's a model gun, though, so it only makes sounds!"

 _Well, thank God for that,_ I thought. _Could you imagine if he'd brought a real gun out in public and waved it around? We'd be carted off to the police station in an instant … But no one's dumb enough to wave a potentially deadly weapon around in public while there's a big investigation going on, of course._

I got the feeling I was wrong.

"That's a toy!" said Morgana-san.

"But it looks totally real, so it'll at least fake 'em out," Ryuji-san argued. "I brought some medicine, too. You know what they say: 'Provide is pre … something.' Huh? Huh?"

"So you were planning this from the start … Well, fine. If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration."

Ryuji-san handed Akira-san the gun.

Morgana-san hummed. "There are probably still soldiers making their rounds outside. Let's use this time to sort through our current situation."

" _Did we not literally just do that?"_ I asked.

"Let's eavesdrop on the soldiers outside," he continued, like I hadn't spoken … well, I _hadn't_ , but still. "We might be able to learn something from them."

We gathered by the door, which Akira-san opened just a snip, and listened. The soldiers were pretty much right outside, so I couldn't help the fear that they might discover us.

 **"I thought I just heard something from over there …"** one of them said. **"Guess it was my imagination …"**

 **"And what of the slaves?"** asked a second.

 **"They're all in the training hall,"** answered the third. **"I'd assume they're screaming in pain by now."**

 **"Very well. By the way, I heard we may have intruders around. Stay on your guard."**

The three guards all walked off in different directions.

"Did you hear that?" Morgana-san asked us.

 _Considering the weird echoey effect their voices have, it's kinda difficult not to,_ I thought.

"How could we not?" asked Akira-san, mirroring my own thoughts.

We all emerged from the side room.

"They said trainin' hall, right?" asked Ryuji-san.

"I think that's just a little further ahead," said Morgana-san. "Let's go!"

We got moving and almost immediately ran dick-first into another guard, which Morgana-san _oh so helpfully_ pointed out as though we couldn't see the massive fucker in the armour.

"Shoot. There's a guard on duty here …"

 _Really? I would never have guessed._

Luckily, he wasn't facing us.

"The way to the training hall should be just past those bars …"

"So … what're we gonna do?" asked Ryuji-san. "Do we gotta fight it?"

"Seems so. Just don't let it notice you beforehand … If it does, the Palace's security level will rise."

"A-And what do we do if that happens? Run away?"

"Well, the security level will go back down if we can beat more enemies without getting noticed."

"Th-That sounds, uh … complicated."

"Fine … I'll put together some info on the security level. Understanding this is crucial to Palace infiltration, so make sure you read it carefully, okay?"

I made the assumption that he would give us whatever it was later because stopping to do a bit of light reading seemed like it would be incredibly dangerous right now.

Akira-san ran ahead, jumped on the guard from behind, and ripped its mask off. The Shadows it revealed were a pair of weird-looking flower things with green bodies and red petals sticking out from the tops of their heads. Akira-san and Morgana-san managed to take out one with an Eiha and a Garu respectively, but the other got a kick in on Morgana-san twice before they managed to take it out.

We went through the barred-off door like Morgana-san said and found ourselves in another hallway.

"The trainin' hall's up ahead, right?" clarified Ryuji-san.

"Yeah, it's a little further," Morgana-san confirmed. "Make sure you watch out for any guards along the way."

Speaking of those devils, we very nearly ran into a couple of them when we got to the bottom of the staircases that were presented to us at the end of the relatively short hallway.

 **"Hey, have you seen anyone who looks like an intruder?"** asked one.

 **"No, nobody yet …"** answered the other.

"Shoot …" muttered Morgana-san. "I had a feeling there would be a lot of enemies. It'd be impossible to dodge all of them …"

"Then, what do we do?" asked Ryuji-san. "Should we try and take 'em down like before?"

"It's not that simple. We still have a long way to go, so we should be conserving energy."

"I-I see … Sorry … Damn it, I wish I could fight … I'd at least be able to help out a little bit …"

I knew the feeling, to be honest. If I had one of those Persona things, I might be more than the dead weight who lacks even the simple ability to call out if I see anything wrong or the like. But that was always me, I suppose. Absolutely no use to anyone, kept around because of pity, knowing that the amount of effort it took to communicate with me properly was definitely the most annoying thing about being around me …

"Okay, we'll use that to take down the enemies!"

Morgana-san's excited words snapped me out of my thoughts and made me realise I had managed to miss some of the conversation.

"What!?" Ryuji-san asked in confusion. "Were you listenin' to me? It don't even shoot pellets …"

I figured out that they were talking about the fake gun.

"Don't worry, I'm sure this'll work," Morgana-san reassured him. "Attack away, Frizzy Hair!"

"Leave it to me," said Akira-san.

"Wait, dude!" Ryuji-san exclaimed. "I keep sayin', it's not gonna fire anything!"

Akira-san and Morgana-san leapt out from around the corner we were hiding behind and attacked the first Shadow they ran into, which exploded into one of those plant things and one of those fairy ladies.

"You have the gun with you, right?" asked Morgana-san. After Akira-san gave his ascent, he continued, "Point it at a Shadow and fire!"

Akira-san took the gun from his pocket, raised it, and fired.

 _Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!_

Five shots fired from the gun I was sure was fake and sent the fairy lady to the ground. Three more were fired off at the plant thing – _Blam! Blam! Blam!_ – but one missed and it kept its footing.

"How about that!?" Morgana-san asked. "Surprised? Be mindful of how much ammo you have left!"

Akira-san ripped his mask off and sent an Eiha at the downed Beguiling Girl, killing her.

"All right, I'll show you my weapon, too!" Morgana-san announced.

He pulled out a slingshot and sent two shots at the Gallows Flower. Much to my surprise, it actually seemed to do some damage, but nowhere near enough to put it down.

The Gallows Flower ran over and hit Akira-san in the chest, sending him stumbling back.

Akira-san ripped his mask off again, and Arsene slashed his wings across the Gallows Flower, ending its life.

"Whoa!" Ryuji-san exclaimed as we rejoined the two of them. "Did that toy gun just shoot real freakin' bullets!?"

"This is a cognitive world," Morgana-san explained. "As long as your opponent sees it as real, it becomes such. It's a good thing it's realistic-looking."

"… I don't get it."

 _You never seem to,_ I thought in exasperation.

Morgana-san seemed to share the sentiment. "I wasn't expecting someone with your brains to understand. You get it, don't you, Hiroyasu?"

I nodded in the affirmative and wrote Ryuji-san a little message.

 _"It's actually incredibly simple. So long as the weapons LOOK real, they ARE real in here."_

"It's simple logic," Akira-san agreed.

Ryuji-san looked irritated. "Wait, if it's better havin' something realistic, why do you got that slingshot!?"

 _That … is a genuinely valid point._

"And it was just as strong as a God damn gun! What about your whole cognitive whatever!?"

"W-Well, um …" Morgana-san sighed. "Fine, you can choose to understand it however you want. Oh, by the way, we should choose how we divvy up our roles in battle from here on out."

"He totally dodged my question …" Ryuji-san muttered under his breath.

"As you can see, there are quite a lot of enemies. It'll be important to coordinate our moves well. I can keep providing intel for us, but you should decide how we fight, Frizzy Hair."

"Whaddya mean, 'how we fight'?" asked Ryuji-san.

"Basically, what we do in battle. He can order us directly, or let us decide what we do. … Though I guess I'm the only other one fighting right now …"

Now I felt even worse.

We got moving again, running down the long, dark hallway. The dark grey bricks this place was built out of made for quite the ominous environment, and the occasional torch flickering the yellow-orange light against the walls didn't make it any better. We had an encounter with a couple of Crypt-Dwelling Pyromaniacs that Akira-san and Morgana-san made quick work of. Shortly after that encounter, we came to another corner.

"A guard …" Morgana-san said after taking a peak. He sounded as annoyed as the rest of us were. "I'm pretty sure that's where we need to be going, too …"

"You guys gonna take it down again?" Ryuji-san asked eagerly.

"I guess that's our only choice … But wait, this might be a good time … Okay, I've decided! I'm going to teach you three a special way to fight enemies!"

Akira-san and Morgana-san ran ahead to fight while Ryuji-san and I watched from the back. Again.

"Listen," Morgana-san said to Akira-san after the Shadow had turned into a Beguiling Girl, "there's a distinct flow to battles. Let me show you. After all, seeing is … something?"

I really wanted to tell him "seeing is believing," but I couldn't, for obvious reasons.

"First, knock down all the enemies! Everything starts at that crucial step!"

Akira-san hit the Beguiling Girl with an Eiha and landed her on her ass pretty quickly. It looked almost embarrassingly easy.

"All right, now rush on in for an All-Out Attack!" said Morgana-san.

The two of them charged the Beguiling girl and started wailing on it with their weapons.

 _So basically a pile-on, huh?_ I thought, bemused. _Well … I guess the phrase "crude but effective" is appropriate here. When they're down, just gang up on them and beat the shit out of them … Okay, I can dig that._

"That went really well!" Morgana-san celebrated. "You're definitely fit for this."

We went through the door the Shadow had been guarding.

There was another door on the other side of a small room with a table and some benches in the middle. Above the door was a silk banner.

 **Kamoshida's Training Hall of Love**

I felt the burning sensation of bile rising in my throat. I could practically taste it. Kamoshida, that son of a bitch, what he would associate with "love" was the molestation of female students. No one could prove it, just like they couldn't prove the physical abuse he committed on the boys, but everybody knew. Everybody.

Ryuji-san read the writing on the banner aloud. "What kinda bullshit is this!?"

We went in.

We were greeted by another hallway with some stairs in front of us. On a wall to the right was a small red flag with Kamoshida's smug fucking face on it.

And the screams …

We ran toward the screams.

We looked through a set of bars we came across …

 _Oh … my God …_

It was the volleyball team – _looked_ like the volleyball team, at any rate – and they were in restraints. Their arms were chained to a raised board in the middle of the room, forcing them to stand up with their arms raised. They yelled out in pain every time one of the guards – torturers, really – whacked them on the back with long wooden sticks.

"Damn it!" Ryuji-san cursed. "This is bullshit!"

I couldn't agree more.

I turned my gaze to the floor, my fists clenching painfully. That … that _bastard_. That complete and utter fucking _BASTARD._

My knuckles turned white and I started to see little droplets of blood drip past my fingers as my nails dug into the palms of my hands.

 _Don't get angry,_ I advised myself. _Don't get angry, don't do anything rash … That was your mistake when …_

My right hand instinctively unclenched and found its way to my throat, where I lightly ran my fingers over the little indentation there.

"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down!?" Morgana-san hissed.

Ryuji-san clenched his teeth and went quiet for a few seconds. "But this is beyond messed up!" He moved to the barred door and looked for a bit. "How do I open this …?"

"Stop it …!" one of the volleyball teamm— oh, fuck it, I'm going to call them what they are. One of the _slaves_ pleaded. This one wasn't chained up. He came right up to the bars and looked at us with lifeless, broken eyes. "Leave us alone … It's useless …"

"Huh!?" said Ryuji-san.

Another slave came over and started speaking, too. "If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!"

Ryuji-san growled and grabbed the bars. "You're tellin' me you wanna _stay_ in a place like this!?"

"Wait a minute …" said Morgana-san. "Were you planning on taking these guys out of here?"

"We can't just leave 'em here!"

I wrote. My hands were shaky in my anger, which now seemed omnipresent, so the handwriting wasn't exactly up to par with my usual neat scripture, but I didn't care. I was pissed off, and Ryuji-san's constant inability to comprehend the situation no matter how many times it was plainly spelt out … well, let's just say it wasn't exactly helping me keep a level head. When I finished writing, I pretty much shoved it into Ryuji-san's hands.

 _" They're not real! Morgana-san has explained it several times now. This is a cognitive world. None of this is what it is in reality. The castle is really the school, "King" Kamoshida is really our gym teacher, and those slaves are really the students. But none of it is real. This isn't the real world, it's how that cunt sees the real world. Liberating those slaves of their imprisonment would be like cutting the strings of a marionette. It would go lifeless. I can't say for sure without asking Morgana-san, but I feel it safe to assume the slaves work the same way. The second we go back to the real world, they'll fucking vanish just like the castle. Get it through your thick head and let's focus on what to do about the fucker who runs this place!"_

When Ryuji-san finished reading, he looked up at me with wide eyes. I just nodded my head toward Morgana-san as though to say, "Go ahead and ask if you don't believe it."

"H-Hey, Morgana …" Ryuji-san started. "Those guys in there … they ain't real, right? You mean … savin' 'em would be pointless?"

"Well, duh," said Morgana-san. "I keep telling you this is a cognitive world. These aren't people who have come into this world like you. They are humans only as Kamoshida sees them."

"So the school's a castle, and the students are slaves …" Ryuji-san actually released a little laugh. "It's so on point that it makes me laugh."

 _Yeah, no shit._ I could see how it mirrored the real world, too. Despite my little outburst ( _GOD, I wish I was still capable of real outbursts!_ ), the realism of the scenario had come close to fooling me, too. It was real uncanny valley stuff.

"This really is inside that asshole's head …!" Ryuji-san growled.

Morgana-san walked over so he could see through the bars. He winced as he looked at the view inside. "Still, this is horrible. It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world, too."

 _Sounds about right,_ I thought grimly.

"Wait, I know these guys …" said Ryuji-san.

I knew them, too. I didn't interact with a lot of people as a general rule – they were all either assholes who believed all the rumours, terrified out of their minds, or completely indifferent – but I was observant. When you don't have any real friends, there's not much you can do except watch from the sidelines.

"They're members of the volleyball team – the one Kamoshida coaches for!"

"They must be physically abused every day …" said Morgana-san. "There's no way they'd be so beat up normally."

"Don't tell me … They're going through similar shit in reality!?"

"Most likely. I mean, this proves that Kamoshida thinks of them as slaves."

"So it might be for real … I heard that Kamoshida's usin' physical punishment. They're just rumours, but …"

[Probably true,] I signed to Akira-san, rather than waste time writing things down again. [The rumour mill at that school is full of shit, but sometimes, something of some worth crawls through the gaps. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, and a very small needle at that, but it's been known to happen. A good rule of thumb is seeing whether the rumours in question are about anyone Kamoshida has beef with.]

"Sounds more like an Orwellian future than a school," Akira-san mused, then relayed what I'd said to Ryuji-san and Morgana-san.

"He's right," said Ryuji-san. "It's kinda why even I have some reservations about believin' the rumours, even if they _do_ fit my view of Kamoshida. It's kinda hard to split up the truth and the bullshit in Shujin. Still, this kinda proves 'em, so isn't this the sort of thing we should report to the police …? We could use these guys as evidence. If all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida …!"

He took his phone from his pocket, held it up, and started tapping.

"… Huh? It's not workin'!? We can use the navigation app, but the camera's a no go!?"

I couldn't say I didn't have a sneaking suspicion beforehand, but God knows they probably wouldn't have appreciated the one person it takes an effort to communicate with doing the testing of that sort of thing.

"A navigation app?" asked Morgana-san.

"That's what we used to come here," Ryuji-san explained. He looked between Akira-san and me. "What about yours?"

I checked my phone, saw the camera wasn't working and shook my head.

"Nothing," said Akira-san.

"Whatever you do is fine," said Morgana-san, "but we're gonna get caught if we stand around like this. We need to head back!"

"Hang on a sec!" Ryuji-san said urgently. He stared intently into the torture chamber. "There's no other way … I'll just memorise their faces before goin' home!"

It was a good idea. I started to do the same.

We ended up looking into all the different cells. It was horrifying. One of them contained three high-speed treadmills that had a guy running on each; alone, this wouldn't have been so bad, but there was a large rotating cylinder covered in spikes behind them that would have no doubt crushed and impaled them if they'd stopped running. There was one guy hanging by his feet as a cannon fired explosive volleyballs at him over and over. The second one made my breath catch in my throat. I could have sworn that was Mishima.

"Hurry!" Morgana-san urged us. "We need to get out of here, quick!"

We left and made our way back into one of the brick-built area with the wooden bridges.

"All right, we're back," said Ryuji-san. "We gotta get outta here, quick!"

 **"The watch post near the training hall has ceased reporting,"** said a nearby guard we couldn't see. **"Chances of intruder activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!"**

We took that as our cue to duck behind one of the many piles of crates scattered around this castle for some reason.

"Tch, we've stayed here too long …" said Morgana-san. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

 _I second that,_ I thought. It was weird how being unable to speak got you just saying what you normally would have said in your head.

That probably made no sense.

* * *

Our run back to the entrance hall was uneventful, mostly because we moved fast and hid rather than fight like we had been.

Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky upon arrival.

 **"** … **You knaves again?"** asked King Kamoshida, two guards flanking him on either side. There was a third, this one in pristine golden armour, just behind. **"To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless!"**

Ryuji-san took a brave step forward. "The school ain't your castle! I've memorised their faces real good. You're goin' down!"

I nodded my agreement. It occurred to me that this probably wasn't worth much and once again missed my own voice.

 **"It seems it's true when they say 'barking dogs seldom bite.'"** He turned his vile gaze on me and his cruel grin widened. **"Then again, I guess even the quiet ones aren't exactly dangerous. How the star runner of the track team and the little hero wannabe have fallen."**

I squeezed my fists tightly.

"The hell are you gettin' at!?" Ryuji-san yelled.

 **"I speak of the 'Track Traitor' who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams, and the 'Silent Spook' who tried to act against me and ended up a social pariah. Oh, I can imagine the others who were dragged under your … selfish act, Sakamoto. Don't you remember the looks in their eyes, Ochiai, as you realised nothing you said mattered and they were resigned to their fates?"**

I remembered it. I remembered it well. I could still speak back then. I remembered trailing off as I saw the looks in everyone's eyes, and by the time it hit me that there was nothing I could do while the idiots refused to help themselves, I was on the floor with a newly-developing black eye.

I squeezed my fists tighter.

"Ngh," Ryuji-san grunted.

"What's he talking about?" asked Akira-san.

King Kamoshida seemed amused. **"What a surprise. So you're accompanying them without knowing anything at all? Sakamoto betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever.** **Didn't you ever wonder why Ochiai, the smartass that he is, never spoke up? So to speak, anyway."** He laughed. **"Because he already** _ **tried**_ **! He was on quite a roll, too, until he saw how futile it was, and then all I had to do was give him one little push to put the final nail in his hope's coffin."**

"That's not true!" Ryuji-san shouted.

 _Bastard,_ I thought and tried to hiss it out under my breath, but all that came out was air and pain in my throat.

 **"You've come along with these fools and now you are going to end up dead. … How unlucky of you."** He nodded to his guards. **"Go. Kill them all. Don't sully my castle with garbage."**

The two regular guards exploded into black sludge and reformed into a trio of large ram-like Shadows.

"Guys, move!" Morgana-san warned.

 _Damn it,_ I thought as I stepped back with Ryuji-san. _Useless._ Again _. God fucking_ damn _it!_

King Kamoshida had brought all those feelings flooding back. The humiliation, the feeling of hopelessness, that I wouldn't be able to do anything. It was all back. But now there was something else in there, too. There was _anger_. There was _hatred_. Fuck what Yoda said in _Revenge of the Sith_ , I was _pissed_. Something was tugging at the back of my head, but it wasn't fully formed, so I couldn't tell what it was, but I knew it was there. I glared past the rams at King Kamoshida, wanting, _desperately_ , to punch that smug fucking look from his face.

 _ **"I'll kill you!"**_ said one of the Dirty Two-Horned Beasts. _**"I'll kill you 'cause King Kamoshida told us! I'll kill 'cause that's what he wants!"**_

An already bad situation got somehow worse.

The three Dirty Two-Horned Beasts surrounded Akira-san and Morgana-san, and one of them charged horns-first, catching Morgana-san from behind. He didn't go down, but he was knocked out of place and clearly hurt. As Akira-san moved to defend him, he got hit, too, not once but twice. He wasn't hurt as much as Morgana-san, but he gritted his teeth, clearly trying not to give in to whatever pain he was feeling.

" _Eiha_!" Akira-san shouted.

Arsene appeared and sent his attack at one of the Shadows. It hit home … but the Shadow didn't so much as flinch.

" _Garu_!" Morgana-san announced.

Zorro appeared and sent wind at one of the Shadows. It clearly did a lot of damage, enough that bits of the Shadow had to reform from darkness, but it did not die.

Morgana-san looked around at the Shadows and seemed to finally notice they weren't doing so well.

"There's more of them?" he asked, exasperated. "This is bad …"

As if to emphasise his point, another one hit him from behind. This time he went down.

" _Morgana-san_!" Akira-san shouted, turning to glare at the one that had done it.

Another Shadow charged him from the side and sent him to the floor, too.

King Kamoshida came forward and stamped a foot down on Morgana-san.

Morgana-san grunted out in pain. "You piece of—"

Akira-san tried to stand up, but the guard in the gold armour put a foot on his back and pushed him down. He didn't do it gently.

 **"I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this,"** said King Kamoshida. **"Isn't that right?"**

He seemed to be talking to the two being pinned down, but he was looking at Ryuji-san and me.

"No …" Ryuji-san said weakly.

My palms had started to bleed from my nails digging into them again.

 **"What worthless pieces of trash, getting emotional so quickly … How dare you raise hand or voice to the likes of me? Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice? Or my willingness to let you join the volleyball team, even though you were skinny and weak?"**

 _That's just why you let me join,_ I wanted to say but had to think. _You wanted a whipping boy, someone you didn't have to go easy on because I wasn't as strong or useful as the others. If I'd known what you were like before, I never would have tried. I never would have …_

"Wasn't no practice – it was physical abuse!" Ryuji-san shouted, falling to his knees and punching the floor. "You just didn't like our team!"

 **"It was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve results is me! That coach who got fired was hopeless, too … Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it with only breaking his star's leg."**

… I knew Ryuji-san had beef, but I didn't know about _that_ …

I didn't think it was possible, but I actually hated Kamoshida even more now.

"… What?" Ryuji-san breathed out.

 **"Do you need me to deal with your other leg, too? The school will call it self-defence, anyway!"**

I got a sudden feeling of nausea when he turned his golden eyes toward me.

 **"And you … Hmm, how to top someone wrecking your ability to speak …? Well, there are a lot of people who are born deaf who can't speak, so how about I take your ears? You'll have two out of three! Speak no evil and hear no evil."**

I was barely aware of Ryuji-san speaking as his threat ran through my head. I couldn't stop flashes of the incident where my voice was lost to me as they ran through my mind … That wasn't Kamoshida, but the parallels were there … I could still practically _feel_ that fist hitting me in the throat … once … twice … again and again … Was I really ready to go through that again, at the hands of another asshole? Was I really going to sit back and take it again? Was I really just going to adhere to the status quo once more, even after my hope had been given … well, _hope_ of being brought back these last two days …?

I broke out of my thoughts as King Kamoshida brought his foot down on Morgana-san hard once again.

 **"Once _these_ two are dealt with, _you_ two are next," **he promised us. He cackled.

"Ryuji! Hiroyasu!" Morgana-san exclaimed.

"Stand up for yourselves!" Akira-san shouted.

 _No,_ I decided. I unclenched my fists and glared at King Kamoshida. _HELL NO! I'm not gonna give up, not now, not again!_

"… You're right," said Ryuji-san. "Everything important to me was taken by him … I'll never get 'em back …!"

 **"Stay there and watch, you two. Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."**

Ryuji-san stood up, and I moved to stand beside him. He nodded at me. I nodded back. We both looked at King Kamoshida with defiant glares. I couldn't speak, but my thoughts at that moment were projected loud and clear to all present: _I am DONE being fucked with!_

"No …" said Ryuji-san. "That's what _you_ are … All you think about is using people … You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

I raised both of my middle fingers.

 **"What are you doing?"** King Kamoshida demanded as we started to walk toward him. **"Silence them!"**

I smirked at the irony of his statement.

Ryuji-san pointed a finger at King Kamoshida and shouted: " _Stop lookin' down on us with that stupid smile on your face!_ "

I knew he couldn't understand, but I didn't care. I moved my hands and signed. [I won't lie down and let shit slide any more! Regardless of how things turn out, I will never stop fighting you!"]

 _ **"Fuckin' finally!"**_ a feminine voice with a growl to it said from nowhere. _**"How long were ya plannin' on letting me wait, dumbass?"**_

Then my head exploded in pain.

It was like having my skull cracked open and lava was being poured in. I gripped my head instinctively and opened my mouth in a silent yell of pain. I was vaguely aware of Ryuji-san doing the same beside me.

 _ **"You want the power to kick this prick's ass, huh?"**_ the voice asked me. _**"I guess we could cut a deal. Your name's already dirt, so what've ya got to lose? Run wild and let those sons of bitches judging you know that you don't give a damn! Your 'other self' really wants to kick this annoying prick's ass! I am thou, thou art I … There's no coming back now … This badass bitch and her scissor blade have got your back from now on, ya hear me?"**_

I stood up, rigidly straight, as something appeared on my face. It was a mask. Without even seeing it, I somehow knew it was a white open-mouthed ghost-like image, not unlike the one from the _Scream_ TV series, but with angrier eyes and what appeared to be fangs in the mouth. It felt … _wrong_ on my face, somehow, like it was keeping me back. That wouldn't do. I raised my hands to the mask, wanting to be free, and _pulled_.

It hurt.

Like a _bitch_.

I felt it stick, not moving. So I pulled again. This time the bottom detached somewhat and pain burned the lower part of my face. I felt the wetness of blood. I pulled again. More came loose. I pulled a third time.

The mask fell from my face, blood spurted from all over my face, and blue exploded all around me.

I could feel whatever was trapped behind that mask leap out into the world, and the pain I felt from the flesh being ripped from my face paled in comparison to the elation I felt at finally being truly _free_ of the chains that had held me down up until this moment.

The blue all around me cleared. My face was dry of the blood that had been coating it mere moments before.

Something was hovering behind me.

 **"Ugh … These two as well!?"** grunted King Kamoshida.

I glanced to my left and saw that Ryuji-san had gone through a change. He was wearing a jacket and trousers, both a matching black colour, with knee pads, a red ascot, and combat boots. He was maskless, as I was. Floating behind him was a skeletal pirate with a classic skull-and-crossbones black pirate hat, one eye with a patch over it and one empty socket with a red glow inside, Where his right hand should have been – or, more accurately, where the hook-hand would have been on any other pirate missing a hand – there was a canon. He was dressed in a blue shirt and black trousers, with what looked like metal restraints drawn across his chest, around his neck, and attached to his left arm. The stand-out point, however, was the fact that he was standing on a pirate ship.

I glanced down at myself and saw that I was wearing an all-white bodysuit with a cape flowing out behind me that seemed to have a hood. I pulled the hood up. I liked it.

I looked behind me and saw my Persona. As I had suspected from her voice, it was a girl. She looked about 17, so not that much older than me. She had mid-length, scruffy black hair with a single left-sweep highlight of red on her bangs. Her eyes, which were blue, had peculiarly-shaped pupils, resembling eight-groove gears. Her skin was fair. She wore a navy-blue sailor uniform, though it was slightly odd – it consisted of a crop top with mid-length sleeves that bore her midriff, a sailor-style collar with red pinstripes tied up by a multicoloured scarf and resembling an eye, the other side of which was covered by an "eyepatch" with an X-shaped scratch over it, a skirt held up by suspenders that were attached to a belt, and a single fingerless glove.

 _ **"Watcha fuckin' staring at?"**_ she asked me.

I abruptly turned my eyes away.

"Right on …" Ryuji-san said. "Wassup, Persona … This fuckin' rocks!"

 _That it does,_ I thought eagerly. A massive grin pulled up the muscles on my face. I had the power to fight back.

Morgana-san and Akira-san stood up from their places on the floor as Ryuji-san continued to speak.

"Now that I got this power, it's time for payback … Yo, I'm ready … Bring it!"

Akira-san, Morgana-san, Ryuji-san, and I stood together, all of us capable of fighting against our oppressors for what felt like the first time. It felt good. _Really_ good.

The Shadow in the gold armour grunted. **"Don't mock me, you brat!"**

It exploded into darkness and reformed into a large red devil-like creature riding on a black horse.

"Blast him away … Captain Kidd!" Ryuji-san shouted.

 _Let's teach these fuckers a lesson … Ryuko,_ I thought.

 _ **"I thought you'd never ask,"**_ she said to me. I wasn't sure whether it was just me hearing her, or if the others could, as well.

Our fight began.

 _ **"What troublemakers that trouble King Kamoshida with trifle matters,"**_ the Shadow said.

"Kamoshida's cognition ain't changin', right?" said Ryuji-san. "Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am! Let's do this, Captain Kidd!"

 _If he wants to peg me the sneak, then that's exactly what I'll be,_ I thought. _I'll rip his soldiers limb from limb, all from the shadows. From behind the scenes, I'll tear his little kingdom apart! You, Ryuko, will be my weapon, the thing that's seen while I remain hidden. Is that a deal you're particularly interested in?_

I could feel her grin without looking. **_"Just point me to whoever's ass I need to kick,"_** she said.

 _I think the Horseman of the Apocalypse wannabe there would be a good start._

Two of the Dirty Two-Horned Beasts joined the Guard Captain on the battlefield. Good. We would probably need at least three between us in order to adequately air out all our frustrations.

Captain Kidd spun around at Ryuji-san's orders and rained lightning down on one of the Dirty Two-Horned Beasts.

Ryuko – it felt silly giving part of my own being an honorific – lunged at the Guard Captain and delivered a devastating Cleave with the blade she'd been holding, which looked like half of a giant pair of scissors. He stumbled but stayed put.

Ryuko vanished and I was wearing a mask again.

"Yeah, have some of that!"

Despite my elation, I didn't fancy the prospect of ripping bits of my face off again.

Ryuji-san ripped off his mask – which resembled the top half of a skull – and summoned Captain Kidd again, who rained down lightning on the other Dirty Two-Horned Beast. Both of them were down. Ryuji-san then ran up to one of them and delivered a swift kick then a whack with the lead pipe he had all of a sudden. The Shadow exploded into black smoke and then was nothing.

Akira-san summoned Arsene, who delivered a Cleave of his own to the other downed Shadow. It died.

Morgana-san sent Zorro in with a Garu to attack the Guard Captain.

The Guard Captain aimed his lance at Morgana-san and made to attack, but I ripped my mask off, gritting my teeth through the pain, and sent Ryuko in with her scissor blade. She knocked the lance off course, then took a second swing and whacked the flat edge of her blade across the Guard Captain's head, dazing him.

Lightning rained down on the Guard Captain and curse energy from Arsene's Eiha rose from the ground to meet him. He stood no chance now that he was outnumbered.

Morgana-san had Zorro hit the Guard Captain with another blast of wind, and then it was over.

 _ **"I am …"**_ the Guard Captain said weakly, _**"a loyal subject … of the glorious King Kamoshida … So why … have I lost …!?"**_

"It just proves that Kamoshida ain't anything special," said Ryuji-san.

"Not just that, but it proves that he's full of shit, and so are you!"

The Guard Captain vaporised.

King Kamoshida looked at the rapidly disappearing leftovers in shock.

Ryuji-san, breathing heavily, said, "… How 'bout that!?"

"I don't know what's surprising me more," Morgana-san commented. "The fact that Ryuji-san had the Potential, too … or the fact that Hiroyasu is _talking_ …"

I looked at him inquisitively.

"You didn't notice?" asked Akira-san. "You've talked twice in the last few minutes."

"No, I haven—"

I froze. That was me. It was metallic, almost robotic, but that was very much _me_. Though it seemed to be coming less than me and more from the mask, one irrefutable fact remained: I could _talk_.

"… Hey, Kamoshida," I … I _said_. "I'd just like to take this opportunity to say what I've been wanting to say to you _so many times_ in the last year." I cleared my throat for emphasis. "FUCK. OFF. AND DIE!"

I felt so elated I could have died happily at that moment. I could _talk_ again! It wasn't just the opportunity to say that to Kamoshida, it was the fact that I could talk! I could communicate without being annoying! I COULD ACTUALLY SAY THINGS TO PEOPLE!

Kamoshida growled at us. **"I told you that this is** _ **my**_ **castle."** His irritation vanished and that grin – that _annoying fucking grin_ – spread across his face again. **"It seems you still don't understand …"**

Someone walked in from the side and stood close to Kamoshida's side. _Very_ close. She was practically hugging onto him.

Even wearing as little as she was – a red bra and panties, gold high-heels, and cat ears – I recognised the girl as Takamaki-san.

"Wh—" said Ryuji-san, realising what I had. "Takamaki!?"

"Oh …!" Morgana-san gasped. "Wha … What a meow-velous and beautiful girl …!"

 _ **"We need to kill the cat,"**_ Ryuko said in my mind.

 _Agreed,_ I thought.

The other Takamaki-san put an arm around King Kamoshida and hugged herself to him.

I shocked myself with how angry I got.

I already knew he saw her as nothing but a sex object, but actually _seeing_ it … I saw red, and it had absolutely nothing to do with what she was wearing, I swear. He saw Takamaki-san, a living, breathing girl with a life of her own, who had an unfair reputation for … promiscuousness as it was, as just something to stick his dick in. I held nothing but rage and hatred for this absolute bastard of a teacher.

"What's going on …?" Ryuji-san asked.

"It's how he sees Takamaki-san," I growled. The metallic nature of my new voice didn't quite capture all the emotion, but it came close enough. "Nothing but a walking sex doll. _Bastard_."

As though to emphasise my point, Kamoshida started to stroke this other Takamaki-san's face. It was anything but affectionate. It was creepy.

"Hey!" Ryuji-san yelled. "Let go of her, you perv!"

 **"How many times must I tell you until you understand?"** King Kamoshida asked condescendingly. **"This is MY castle – a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me. … That is, everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."**

"Something tells me your definition of 'love' is something you only share with the female genitalia," I said.

King Kamoshida smirked at me. **"Are you jealous? Well, I'm not surprised. Women aren't drawn to problematic little sneaks like you. Especially since I made the entire student body think you were spying on the girls' locker room and that little sketchbook of yours is filled with your memories of them."**

"I think my next drawing will be of you fucking yourself. Not a pretty image, but seeing your face when it's found on your desk would be _worth it_."

 **"Clean them up this instant!"**

About four guards sprouted from the ground.

"We're outnumbered …" said Morgana-san, troubled. "Let's scram before we get surrounded!"

"We're not gonna do anything and just run!?" Ryuji-san protested.

"Just shut up and _go_ ," Akira-san ordered seriously.

"Thank God _you've_ got a level head," said Morgana-san.

"As much as I'd _love_ to pound this fucker's face into paste, I have to admit that I don't like these odds," I said when it once again occurred to me that I _could_ speak.

Ryuji-san clicked his tongue in annoyance, then shouted at King Kamoshida past the Shadows. "We'll expose what you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us …!"

King Kamoshida laughed. **"I was beginning to get bored of torturing the ones here! Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your life!"** He laughed again.

"Ignore him," Morgana-san advised. "Let's go!"

We ran.

* * *

Ryuji-san panted as we stood outside the castle. After hearing about his leg, it made sense to me that he wouldn't be as good at running these days, even if he was a member of the track team at one point.

"Anyways!" he said, eventually. "I don't remember changin' into this!"

"Nor I, this," I said. "And I doubt Akira-san switched wardrobes really quickly while we weren't looking when he first got his getup, you know?"

"You guys look pretty cool," Akira-san commented.

"Uhh … Should I be happy about that?" asked Ryuji-san.

"I am," I said. "You should be, too. We look pretty badass."

 **"Did you find them!?"** a Shadow said inside the castle.

"Quiet!" Morgana-san hushed us.

 **"No! Search that way!"** said another Shadow.

We relaxed. They didn't seem to be coming outside. Using our secret exit had paid off.

"So what's goin' on?" Ryuji-san asked. "I'm completely lost, man …!"

"I told you before," said Morgana-san. "When a Persona-user opposes a Palace's ruler and becomes a threat to them, this happens. It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions."

Ryuji-san felt his mask. "Is this … a skull?"

"I look like a vaguely evil ghost," I threw in. "Kind of appropriate, no? 'Silent Spook' and 'Ghost of the Girls' Locker Room' are both looking kinda funny right now."

"Your appearance reflects your inner self," said Morgana-san. "It's the rebel that slumbers within …" He eyed Ryuji-san. "Not that _you'll_ get it."

"Nope …" Ryuji-san agreed instantly.

"Well, at least he acknowledges it," I said.

"Then stop asking questions," said Morgana-san, "and accept what you see for what it is."

"Easy for you to say," said Ryuji-san. He gasped. "Wait, we're in deep shit!"

"I said to be quiet!" Morgana-san hissed at him.

"We might've gotten away here, but we're still screwed with Kamoshida at the real school …"

"That's quite sharp of you! … For being an idiot. Relax. The Kamoshida in reality can't possibly know about what happens here. A Shadow is the true self that is suppressed – a side of one's personality they don't want to see."

"Plus," I added, "we were in here yesterday, and he didn't react to us any worse than usual when we got to school, did he? We should be fine, Ryuji-san."

"All right!" said Ryuji-san. "Now that we know that, all we gotta do is—"

"Wait," Morgana-san interrupted. "I guided you as promised. It's your turn to cooperate with me. That's why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything."

"Huh? Cooperate?"

"Don't you remember? I originally came here for an investigation. I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my real form! That's why we must delve deep into Mementos and—"

"Whoa, hold up. What're you goin' on and on about? We never said anything about helping you out."

"Huh? Don't tell me … Are you not going to repay the hospitality I showed you?" He turned his eyes to Akira-san. "Especially you! You're going to up and leave, even though you're already part of my master plan!?"

"What plan?" asked Akira-san.

"Is it because I'm not human …?" Morgana-san asked. "Because I'm like a cat …? Is that why you're making a fool of me!?"

"I'd be happy to help you out," I said. "But I only just got these powers and we know absolutely nothing about what you're talking about. How do you expect us to help at all if you won't explain? I know Ryuji-san hasn't left the best impression …"

"Hey!"

"… but I'm sure Akira-san and I will pick up on whatever you tell us pretty quickly."

"We're busy!" Ryuji-san argued. He knelt down and patted Morgana-san on the head in a slightly condescending manner. "Thanks for everything, cat. You've got guts, bein' a cat and all! See you around!"

Ryuji-san ran off. Akira-san followed a moment after.

"Sorry," I said to Morgana-san, then I followed them.

The poor cat was still shouting at us when we left.

* * *

{You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.}

The three of us were standing in the alley again.

"… Thank God, we're back," said Ryuji-san.

I tried to speak, to say that leaving Morgana-san like that probably wasn't very nice of us … but all I got was pain and wheezing noises. I choked on the words that I had intended to speak and started coughing and sputtering into my hand. When I opened my hand, there was fresh blood on it, and not from when I opened it with my nails earlier. I grimaced, disappointed, but I was used to not being able to speak.

"Can't speak out here, huh?" Akira-san asked. "That sucks, man. I'm sorry."

I waved him off like I didn't mind. I did.

"I dragged you guys around a lot, huh?" Ryuji-san asked. "Sorry, guys."

 _"I wanted to bring him down, too. Don't even worry about it,"_ is what I wrote and showed him.

He nodded at me, then sighed. "I'm dead tired. How're you guys holdin' up?"

"I could use a nap," Akira-san mused.

A yawn tore through my lips, showing them my answer.

"I guess we're all gonna sleep like rocks when we get home," said Ryuji-san. "But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good! I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves. Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done. So … wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?"

I nodded without hesitating.

"Sure," said Akira-san.

"Awesome," said Ryuji-san. "Hey, so … If you're thinkin' of layin' low 'cause you got a record, I don't think that'll help … Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal."

"I know," said Akira-san. "Jesus, how could I _not_? Everyone's talking about it. What I can't figure out is the how."

"How else? Kamoshida opened his damn mouth!"

"Right … but why? I never did anything to him."

"And you think that matters? It doesn't matter if it's a student or a club; that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me …! No one'll take anything I say seriously."

I signed to Akira-san. [Me, too. Not that I can 'say' anything, but you know what I mean. Now that our reputations are dirt, we can't get anyone to so much as hear us out.]

"Still, those rumours about him gettin' physical might be real," said Ryuji-san. "And after seeing Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

"Of course," Akira-san agreed.

"I'm countin' on you!" He paused. "No, _we're_ countin' on you." He tapped me on the shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm hyped about this, too!"

I looked between the two of them and smiled. I felt closer to these two after just two days than I'd felt to anyone in years. It was refreshing. It felt good.

Ryuji-san's stomach growling kind of ruined the moment.

"Oh …" he said, embarrassed. "Right. I haven't eaten anything since lunch. It'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite somewhere?"

"What did you have in mind?" asked Akira-san.

"Meat, man. Just follow me."

I followed along with them. I hadn't eaten since lunch, either. Getting some meat in me sounded like a damn good idea.

* * *

"WHAT!?" Ryuji-san exclaimed after Akira-san had finished his story.

Akira-san had been walking home one night when he'd come across a man trying to force himself on a woman. Akira-san had interrupted, and the man had fallen down. The man sued him. It turned out that the guy – whose name Akira-san didn't appear to recall – was some hotshot politician with big connections. He got away with everything and Akira-san was given a record and a year on probation at our school. This miscarriage of justice was pretty fucked up.

 _I guess Kamoshida isn't the only guy who gets away with sexual harassment just because he's a big shot,_ I mused unhappily. The words "fuck the world" occurred to me, not for the first time.

"The hell, man!" Ryuji-san went on. "How much shittier can that asshole get!?"

"It's in the past …" Akira-san said uncomfortably.

 _ **"Fuck that!"**_ Ryuko's voice resounded in my head. _**"I'd have kicked seven shades of shit outta that guy!"**_

"Are you for real!? If it was me, I wouldn't calm down until I punched that dick in the face!" He carried on eating. I had finished sometime ago. "So … you left your hometown, and … you're livin' here now, huh? We might be more alike than I originally thought."

"What did you do?" Akira-san asked.

"I don't got a record like you do," Ryuji-san said humorously. "I mean, that's not the point. I guess it's like how we're treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us, like we don't belong. You, too, Hiroyasu. I did something stupid at school before, too." He tipped his head back and poured the remainder of his bowl's contents down his gullet. "The place you're livin' now is in … Yongen, right? It's rush hour on the subways. I suggest you kill some time before headin' home." He peered curiously into Akira-san's bowl and looked affronted. "What the hell, man. You barely touched your food."

It was then that I noticed Ryuji-san had put all the money on the table.

Shaking my head, I reached into my pocket.

"I can do that," Akira-san said.

Ryuji-san waved us both off with an air of ease. "Just lemme do it. I gotta thank you two for helpin' me. Anyways, I got your backs like you got mine from tomorrow on. As long as we do something about Kamoshida, I'm sure we'll all feel better about bein' at school. Oh, yeah! Tell me your numbers. Chat IDs, too."

We exchanged numbers between us.

"Just you wait, Kamoshida …" Ryuji-san muttered with relish. "We're gonna start right away tomorrow. First, let's hit up those guys that were kept as slaves. The volleyball rally's tomorrow, huh? Shit's recommended by Kamoshida. Makes me wanna gag. But thanks to that, we got no classes in the afternoon, and we can walk around unnoticed."

[I think you'll find I'm an expert in that area,] I signed to Akira-san. He smiled and relayed it to Ryuji-san.

"Think you can listen in on anyone, see if you can pick anything up?" he asked.

I nodded resolutely. I would certainly try.

"Man, you're the best," he said, making me look down and blush. "I guess we can work out the full details tomorrow." He looked again at Akira-san's bowl. "C'mon, you gotta eat more. There's tons of ginger here."

We stayed for a while more. It was fun.

I went home and spent the night how I always did. I listened to music, I drew, and eventually, I fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

 _Goodnight, Ryuko,_ I thought as I drifted off.

" _ **Night,"**_ she responded.

* * *

 **In defence of Hiroyasu's Persona being an anime character, two things. 1) The Personas are just representations of the characters' psyches, and the inclusion of the literary characters proves that to fit the theme, in this case "rebellion," they don't have to come from the same sort of place as the others, so I think the rebellious girl Ryuko Matoi of _Kill la Kill_ fits the bill. 2) I _was_ originally planning on having his Persona be Quasimodo from _Notre-Dame de Paris_ (better known as _The Hunchback of Notre-Dame_ ) due to his rebellion against his tyrannical father figure Claude Frollo, but Theboblinator talked me into using Ryuko when I explained Hiroyasu's personality to him and he made a very convincing argument about how the two fit together. Moral of this story: IF YOU'RE UPSET, BLAME THEBOBLINATOR!**

 **Only joking. Feel free to be displeased with me. I only ask that you leave any outright abuse in your own head. I _will_ block people who are abusive without providing constructive criticism.**

 **If it's the gender not matching that bothers you … then Naoto. Naoto's Persona was male. I get that's meant to symbolise her conflicted gender issues and all that, but the point stands that she proves that it CAN happen.**

 **Also, no hate on Ryuji, but I _did_ get frustrated when I was playing the game and everything Morgana said just went right over his bloody head. That's not just me, is it?**

 **Anyway, enough of that. I hope you enjoyed.**

 **Before I go, I shall answer some reviews.**

 **Fanboy of the Multiverse:** Cheers, mate.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** Thank you, I was hoping so. As you can see, he can talk, but only in the cognitive world. I don't want to get too unrealistically upbeat by giving him the ability to speak all the time.

 **pyrojack25:** I … don't think I've ever heard the word you're referring to. If I was accidentally racist, I apologise, but I honestly don't know what you're talking about. I will neither confirm nor deny that.

 **Golden-Black Dragon:** Yes, Hiroyasu is mute. That was kind of the idea, but I also just wanted to give Hiroyasu a disadvantage of some sort in the real world. Thank you.

 **ARSLOTHES:** Thank you.

 **Isamaru:** Thank you very much!

 **JayH120:** Ann is my favourite girl, too, followed closely by Futaba. As you can see from the chapter, yes, he talks, but not in the real world. We'll go into exactly why he's mute as the story progresses. Thank you. Heh, that is kinda funny. I hope you enjoyed the second chapter.

 **haye2:** Thank you.

 **VirtualDelirium:** Thanks. I hope you enjoyed the second chapter.

 **Before I go, I'd just like to ask that guest reviewer who keeps asking me to update my _DxD_ stories to stop. I'll get to them when I get to them.**

 **See you all next time!**


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